An Angel and His Wagtails
by 7thManiac
Summary: Years before stepping into Eva-01 Shinji spent a few years living with the strong willed Takami Sahashi and her family and during his stay met the powerful Sekirei 01 Miya. How do those years and meetings affect the Third Child of NERV? After the defeat of the Angels what awaits Shinji as he visits Tokyo-4? And what will he and his flock do when old ghosts crawl out of the shadows?
1. Prologue: The Little Ashikabi

**Prologue: The Little Ashikabi**

 **Tokyo-2, Japan**

 **2006 (9 years before the Angel Wars, 11 years prior to start of the Sekirei Plan)**

Takami Sahashi couldn't help but shake her head in amusement as she looked at the boy sitting in the limo across from her. He was the son of her dearest friend, the son the genius Yui Ikari, his name is Shinji Ikari. She had decided to pick him up since it seemed his father had no plans to deal with him, she didn't blame him, she was devastated when Yui died. And she was her best friend, she couldn't imagine what the husband felt like.

He had recently contacted her and had said he had decided to have one of Shinji's uncles take care of him. While she was happy Shinji would once again be with his family she would be sad to see him go, she had grown to like him. It was also strange that before that none of his family had contacted her, she didn't hide the fact she took in the boy so she wondered why they took two years to contact her.

Well she just hoped that his uncle would let Shinji stay in touch.

"Takami-san! Takami-san!" Shouted the young Ikari as he looked at the busy streets of Tokyo-2, while he had been raised in the busy streets of Tokyo-2 that was still when it was called Matsumoto City. After Old Tokyo was destroyed by a nuclear blast, most likely a terrorist attack, as most countries were too busy with their own problems at the time.

September 13, 2000…Second Impact, Takami remembered the year that followed well. The explosion in Antarctica, which was caused by a meteor according to the UN but she had her doubts, that resulted in the deaths of 2 billion in the southern hemisphere due to tsunamis. The force of the meteor hit, she still doesn't believe it to be that, also tilted the Earth on its axis and caused massive environmental changes along with various other crises. Shifts in weather patterns, for example Japan is now trapped in an everlasting summer, multiple wars over resources, melting of the ice caps and the rise of sea levels…that last part was extremely annoying, MBI had lost Kamikura Island because of that.

Luckily they managed to get all the sekirei and their technology out in time.

And by the time The Valentine Treaty was signed on February 14, 2001 ending the wars that exploded into being in the wake of Impact, HALF the entire human race was dead.

But now isn't the time to think about such serious thoughts.

"Yes Shin-chan?" She asked him.

She couldn't help but smile with amusement at the boy she had raised for two years, she thought of him as her youngest child by this point. And she couldn't blame him, he'd been begging for her to bring him to work for months. She was reluctant at first but she didn't want to break her promise to the young boy. Looking at him she couldn't help but feel a little proud, his self-confidence had been shaky when his father seemed to not care for him. So she had been a bit surprised when he had the courage to ask her to be brought to her work place. Of course she wasn't keen on the idea, hell the biggest reason she raised Minato, Yukari, and Shinji away from Tokyo-2 was to keep them away from Minaka's madness so an argument began between the two erupted. At the end of the day, and after an entire box of tissues which Shinji had used to dry his tears, they had come to a compromise; they had made a bet that if Shinji got the best marks on all of his end of the year tests then she would bring him.

To her surprise, her pseudo son had won, granted he had to ask her two older children for help but she was proud of him regardless.

…Well Yukari had helped him, she wasn't too surprised since Minato had always felt so shy around him.

She was really glad that Shinji had more spine than Minato, granted the reason her oldest child had such a lack of back bone was because he had grown up with a domineering mother and little sister but…well at least she used that knowledge to be easier on Shinji. He was fragile enough after losing his mother; she didn't want to break her best friend's son.

…Actually she was slightly worried about Yukari's…uh…attachment to Shinji. While she agreed the boy was adorable, especially once he broke out of his shell and became much more energetic, his unique brand of shy cheer was cute as hell she agreed. And she knew that Yukari wasn't Shinji's _real_ big sister so it wasn't incest...but there was just _something_ about the way her daughter _looked_ at Shinji that made her slightly apprehensive.

And knowing her energetic and over-the-top daughter she knew she's right to worry. Shinji was scheduled to leave next month, this being one of the last times she could spend time with him was one of the reasons she ended up agreeing, so she hoped that Yukari wouldn't do something that that would land her in a juvenile detention centre…and on the sex offenders list.

So here they are, on a limo on its way to M.B.I. Tower, her work place. She can't help herself from feeling damn proud of the brat; he'd gathered his courage to defy her and spent hours every day studying for the exams all for the goal of going with her to work, to spend time with her.

In a way it also made her hurt a bit inside, she has been more than a bit absent in the lives of both her real children and her pseudo son due to her work at M.B.I. and that meant she could go months without seeing them. Not exactly mother of the year.

If he wants to spend time with her then so be it.

Still, that doesn't mean that she had to like the fact that he's about to meet several super powered aliens…and god forbid some of them react to him.

' _Ha like that would happen,'_ she thought to herself.

That said it doesn't hurt to be prepared so she'd _arranged_ to have Minaka disappear for the next 48 hours, heaven only knows what the idiot Minaka's effect on a young and developing mind would be.

She didn't want him to be insane.

"T-thanks Takami-san…sorry that I f-forced you to bring me to work today…" He trailed off while looking down, a downtrodden look on his face.

' _God damnit Takami!_ ' She internally slapped herself as she saw the self-deprecating look on the boy's face. _'Remember he's the the sensitive type! If you're gonna sulk in his presence then don't show it on your face!'_

"No that's not it Shin-chan, I just remembered how _annoying_ one of my co-workers is," She told him with a smile while she REALLY hoped she looked sincere while she stared at him for what felt like an eternity before a heartwarming smile spread across his face.

"Ok! Takami-san wouldn't lie!" He exclaimed.

' _Damn it! Why do kids have to be so innocent?'_ She asked herself. _'Why is he so damn nice?'_ She thought feeling more than a little guilty for lying to her pseudo son _again_. Though looking at his smile she couldn't help but think, _'stay kind, stay innocent Shin-chan. You may be a wimp sometimes but whenever I see that smile I remember how much like your mother you are, oh so kind and smart.'_

Seeing M.B.I. Tower dwarfing all the other buildings in the Tokyo-2 skyline out the window she can't help but wonder if Minaka had been trying to overcompensate for _something_.

' _Seriously, why is it so unnecessarily big?'_ She wondered.

She never understood why he had insisted on buying the biggest tower in the city, seriously MBI had started construction of their own city, Tokyo-4 and they would be moving ALL their equipment there.

' _What a waste of money,'_ she thought to herself.

"We're here!" Her pseudo son gasped as the car pulled in in front of the front doors.

Inside she was grateful that she remembered to tell the sekirei to avoid mentioning anything involving their race today, something that wasn't difficult considering only the S Guard's five sekirei are out and walking about…well she didn't tell Karasuba; she didn't want someone that dangerous around her ward and had asked Miya to send her on some errand.

Looking at her son as the driver opened the door she asked, "well, let's go shall we Shin-chan?"

 **HHHHHHH**

 **M.B.I. Tower, Tokyo-2**

 **Same Day**

"Alright Miya, we're all done," said Takehito as he finished his physical exam of sekirei Number 01 Miya, the leader of the S Guard and by far the most powerful of her species that they have found. The S Guard are the first of the sekirei to have been taken out and into the world. It was important for them to stay healthy to be M.B.I.'s fist and it was also important as they could be used as the baseline for treatment of the other 103 sekirei still in stasis.

"May I leave now?" She asked still stark naked with only her long lavender hair covering her breasts giving her any semblance of decency.

"Of course Miya, you may put your clothes back on and leave," said the scruffy haired scientist as he left the room and closed the door behind him.

Miya promptly put on her S Guard Uniform, a black form fitting sleeveless leather top with a black leather mini-skirt and black thigh high boots and a grey haori thrown over her shoulders, satisfied she went to pick up her sword by the door. It was a powerful blade made in a traditional Japanese style, the Totsuga No Tsurugi, she unsheathed a small portion of the blade to check the condition before sheathing it and walking out of the check-up room.

As she stepped into the hallway she couldn't help but think, _'I wonder why Takami wanted no one to talk about the sekirei today? Or why she wanted Karasuba out of the city…although I don't mind her last request, Karasuba had always been…excitable.'_

As she made her way out of the section of the floor reserved for everything related to the sekirei she passed the room where the other 103 sekirei still slept in stasis in varying stages of development. M.B.I. had been developing growth accelerators so that when they're released they would be fully grown more or less. Until those and the other drugs and procedures to prepare the sekirei for interacting with humanity as a whole are complete then they would sleep.

' _Soon my little feathers, soon you will be awoken and see the light of this world. In a decade and a half's time you will spread your wings and find your destined ones,'_ she thought to herself as she made her way to the door that lead to the less secretive parts of the floor.

"Miyaaa," a familiar voice called from behind her as she was about to open the exit door. Turning around she saw Number 03 Kazehana, her long dark violet hair was tied into a ponytail with a white ribbon and wore the same uniform as Miya although she was much more endowed than Number 01 whose proportions, while generous by human standards, were not on the scale of her sister.

"Why do I smell alcohol on your breath Kazehana?" Miya asked as she noticed the obvious smell of sake on her comrade's breath.

"Where is Karasuba-chwaan?" She slurred, ignoring her commander, causing said commander to sigh in frustration.

"I have sent her away on business on the request of Takami-sensei, now why do you smell of sake Kazehana?" She said putting an emphasis on her question and pinching the bridge of her nose to try and kill the coming headache. Kazehana had always had the remarkable ability to cause her to develop a headache whenever she had even a sip of alcohol, without fail. Sometimes she had to wonder if it was one of Kazehana's powers along with her control over the wind.

"Aww I wanted someone to drink with!" She wined, "and don't mention HER around me right now *hic* Miyaaa!"

"Kazeha-"

"He rejeshted me Miya! I poured out my love for him!" She exclaimed.

' _Ah, she had been saying she had feelings for Minaka_ ,' thought the lavender haired woman, _'although what she sees in the man I have no idea.'_

"Kazehana, while I understand being upset, being rejected by the man you love is upsetting for you but that does _not_ excuse your current conduct. Members of the S Guard WILL act in a honorable manner; I will not allow you to walk around intoxicated and sully the honour of our position, understood?" She chastised her subordinate.

"O-o-ofcourseMiya-sama!" Shot out Kazehana who also seemed to have instantly sobered up out of sheer fear of her older sister.

"Um…M-Miya-sama, Matsu-sama has asked for you," asked an M.B.I. employee who had opened the door Miya was about to open. She was sweating profusely in fear, a fact that slightly annoyed Number 01, she had gained a frightening reputation after the battle at the island several years ago. While she didn't really mind the fear she did mind all of the mistakes that were made and documents that were dropped by frightened humans when she walked by.

"Of course," Miya replied in a calm voice and followed the woman out to the hallway that ran the perimeter of the tower's top floor. She looked out the glass walls that lined the outside walls of the walkway and wondered, _'do I have an ashikabi out there? Someone who would show me love? Teach me to smile? Can I even be winged? I am different from the other 107 sekirei after all.'_

If only she knew how many of her questions were about to be answered with a 'yes' today she might have watched where she was going.

That said it was a legitimate thought, even if she could react like normal sekirei much of the human race had died after Second Impact. She dreaded the thought that her ashikabi died in the tsunamis that followed…or even worse in her opinion, her ashikabi dying in one of the wars that followed where she couldn't have protected him.

"Takami-san!" Shouted a small voice.

"Slow down! No running!" Chided an angry…very angry voice.

"Lookie! Look at the view! Lo-oof!"

Feeling something bump into her leg the lavenderette looked down and saw the source of the small voice. It was looking up at her and she that it was a he and he was a young brown haired child with dark blue eyes, staring up at her.

' _Who let a child into the upper floors?'_ She wondered. She knew that security had slackened after herself, Matsu, Kazehana, Karasuba, and Mutsu had arrived. This was inexcusable, her run in with Kazehana had already put her in a bad mood, _this_ was just making it worse.

"Shinji what did I say ab-MIYA?!"

Looking up at the second voice she saw the raven haired grey eyed geneticist Takami Sahashi who was dressed in her usual white lab coat. She was tense, obviously sensing Miya's foul mood, she was one of the people who found the sekirei ship after all and had known Miya for a few years so she knew that an angry Miya was a dangerous Miya. Well more dangerous than she usually was and considering she had cut warships in half that is saying something.

"Takami why is there a child here?" Asked an upset Number 01.

"Miya, calm down he's ju-"

"NO WAIT!" Exclaimed the small boy, much to the surprise of the two women.

He was visibly shaking in her intimidating presence but continued, "d-d-don't be mad at her! It was my fault! I-I was r-running and I wasn't w-watching where I was going."

"And what do you intend to do if I wish to confront Takami-sensei about her breaking security protocol young one?" Miya asked and Yakami tensed even more as she prepared to snatch her best friend's son away and shield him. She may be an overbearing, short tempered and absent mother and not even his real one at that but she would still defend him to the death.

"I _won't_ let you touch Takami-san, you will not harm my family," he said and Miya blinked in…surprise? She wasn't expecting that response from the young boy, she couldn't help but stare at the boy in wonderment. He was shaking but his voice was even and his tone resolute. She looked into his eyes and saw the fire to protect and the steel of his will. For someone so small, who was so obviously outmatched even if she were a human woman, to stand his ground was…commendable.

' _So brave, without powers like we sekirei poses he stands his ground,'_ she thought.

*Bump-Bump…Bump-Bump*

She could feel her heart beat get a little louder and wondered what was happening but decided to think about it later.

"You are very brave," she told the boy softly and he and Takami visible relaxed.

As he looked at her and smiled an honest and loving smile she smiled back. Miya, Number 01, the strongest of her kin, smiled for the first time in her life. It was not lost on her, ' _I feel so warm when I see his smile, what am I feeling?'_

"Thanks onee-san!" He said, beaming up at her.

"My name is Miya, it is a pleasure to meet you," Miya introduced herself after kneeling down so she could be face to face with the target of her attention and curiosity.

"Woah you're pretty," he muttered before looking away blushing. "I'm Shinji! Shinji Ikari," he said nervously and she lightly laughed at his cute reactions.

It was another first, something that was not missed by the Miya herself.

"Miya did you just lau-"

"Is he you son Takami-sensei?" She asked while cutting off said woman.

"N-no, I'm his guardian, I told him that if he wanted to join me at work today he had to get top marks in all of his end of the year exams. And well, here he is," she said with a hint of pride while gesturing at boy.

"How old is he?"

"Five"

"Ara you must be proud Takami-sensei. Smart, brave, and so handsome, he will grow into a fine man," she said as she looked at Shinji again. He turned a shade of red she had never seen before, it seemed he had a talent for teaching the older alien new life experiences.

' _Handsome?'_ Takami asked herself with a raised brow. _'Odd thing to say'_

"W-w-wouldyouliketocomewithusMiya-nee?" Shinji incomprehensibly babbled. Miya found it adorable, especially as he somehow managed to blush even _more_.

"Hm?" She hummed with a raise brow and cocked her head slightly to the side, yes his embarrassment was cute and somewhat endearing but it also made him babble and that was completely incomprehensible.

Shinji cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head nervously as he asked, "would you l-like to come with us Miya-nee?" He asked before quickly adding, "I-I mean while T-Takami-san gives me my tour."

Takami and Miya quickly looked at each other while Shinji stared down at the floor in embarrassment. Takami coughed and broke the awkward silence.

"Well today was his reward, and I'm happy enough to actually be around _and_ since this is his reward…if that's what he wants I see no reason to say no. Unless you're busy of course," replied Takami with a smile, something that Miya had never seen on her face in all the years they've known each other.

' _My my today is a day of firsts,'_ Miya thought to herself.

Turning to the woman who was leading her to Matsu's quarters Miya ordered her to, "please inform Matsu I am…preoccupied escorting an esteemed guest during his tour of our facilities with Takami-sensei."

"O-of course Miya-sama," she replied before bowing and nervously walking off. Miya also noticed Shinji watch her walk away until he turned back to her when the woman rounded a corner.

"Ne Miya-nee why was she scared? Are you strong?" He asked. Miya frowned internally; she didn't want to scare Shinji more than she had already, and even then she regretted doing that.

"Yes."

"Wow! That's so cool!" He exclaimed and hugged Miya as his excitement got the better of him.

The sudden show of affection surprised Takami, her pseudo son wasn't exactly brave, his earlier show of courage aside he'd always avoided any closeness with strangers, she was certain that was a result of being seemingly abandoned by his father. To be comfortable enough and feel connected and close enough to Miya so quickly was unlike him. Miya too was surprised but because she had never had anyone touch her with such affection…such warmth. It was a far cry from the cold and clinical touch of the scientists that she had come accustomed to.

Initially she tensed but eventually relaxed and returned the embrace.

' _This is…pleasant,'_ she decided

*Cough* "Shall we continue the tour?" Takami asked awkwardly as she watched the lavenderette affectionately hugging her young charge. She also noticed a hint of motherly jealousy inside herself as she saw the attention her pseudo son was showing the alien, it was the feeling of seeing your son go off on his first date. While Takami was kind of glad she got to have that feeling, as the plan came closer and closer to starting she knew she would fade from her children's lives more and more and would likely miss his first date and the opportunity to put the fear of God into his first girlfriend, on the other hand she didn't know why Miya was bringing out that feeling. The age gap between the two should be apparent to anybody, hell she's sure he's still too young to have feelings for girls…right?

Miya released Shinji and gave Takami a nod and stood up and followed her. As they continued the tour she wished she left her sword in her quarters; she was enjoying her embrace with the kind boy and would have preferred to pick him up instead of walking beside him. While she could easily lift up the 5 year old with one arm she knew it wouldn't be comfortable for him.

' _I will make sure to have a holster made for Totsuga No Tsurugi, perhaps something similar to the belt holster Karasuba has for her nodachi,'_ she made a mental note for herself.

While she was regarding her blade with a hint of annoyance the young boy with her was regarding it with awe and made a note to learn kenjutsu to be more like the older woman he had, for reasons he can't understand he felt connected to. Not kendo either mind you but proper kenjutsu, not for sport but for combat.

' _One day I want to be strong enough to protect people like Miya-nee!'_ he decided.

It was an odd sight for anyone who came across the trio, Takami was explaining various parts of the building and various pieces of equipment (the ones she deemed safe for the five year old to know about of course) with a rarely seen smile on her face, behind her followed a young boy listening attentively and beside him was the feared Number 01 who had a small smile on her lips. This was an odd sight to say the least.

A few employees swore that the sky will fall the next day while some looked out the window for flying pigs while others swore to themselves to stop smoking weed before work.

As she followed Takami she felt something gently grab on to her right hand, warmth flowing through her body from the touch. Looking down she saw a blushing Shinji, on his face was a look that wanted approval of his actions. She couldn't help but smile and nod at the boy.

As they made their way down five floors to go for lunch Takami got a call on her pager and had to quickly go to her office. Seeing that her young guest was getting tired Miya decided to take him to a nearby lounge. As she sat down on a couch and set her sword down to her left Shinji quickly climbed up and sat on her lap and she gave the boy another hug with both free arms and he relaxed back into her and nodded off to sleep.

' _Well I guess walking around for the last hour on those little legs would have tired him out,'_ she thought to herself with a smile.

Hearing footsteps she turns to the door and expected to see Takami but was surprised to see a still sober sekirei Number 03 Kazehana and Number 02 Matsu walk into the lounge. Matsu wearing the same uniform as Miya and Kazehana, she was as voluptuous as Kazehana, her hair was long and light orange in colour and she tied it partially into two long braids, on her face sat round thin frame glasses.

As they walked in they quickly saw Miya and were surprised to see their leader hugging a sleeping Shinji on her lap.

"Miya! Is he yours?!" Squealed Kazehana, obviously happy at the thought of their leader having a secret love child. Matsu was just shocked quiet; she had never seen Miya so…happy.

In response Miya shot the women a quick glare, informing them to stay silent, luckily Minato stayed sleeping; heaven knows what she would have done if they waked her young charge. Her two comrades quickly nodded in acknowledgement and silently walked over and kneeled down to take a curious look at Miya's impromptu teddy bear.

"Who is he?" Silently asked a curious Matsu.

"He is Takami-sensei's ward, Shinji Ikari," she answered.

This shocked the two younger sekirei, Takami was LEGENDARY for her temper. To see such a calm face on a child she watched over seemed so…wrong. Maybe his father was ridiculously happy? It was the only way they thought Takami's anger could be balanced out.

The sound of the talking caused Shinji to stir slightly which made the three aliens freeze, Miya not wanting to wake him, while Matsu and Kazehana wondered if they could run from Miya fast enough if Shinji woke up.

They did not want to die just yet.

He woke up.

But before she could discipline her subordinates Miya was calmed down by the cute yawn and sleepy smile Shinji shot up at her. Then noticing the two other gorgeous women he did the only thing his sleepy five year old mind could do.

Say whatever was on his barely conscious mind.

"Pretty," he greeted/muttered to them with a blush and a smile. Not the smoothest answer in his young life but his mind wasn't exactly at 100%.

The comment caused the Matsu and Kazehana to 'awww' at the child and ruffle his hair, Matsu also felt a small flutter in her body when she touched the young boy. Something she wisely hid from Miya and Takami when she eventually returned.

The rest of the day had been very pleasant for Miya. Very enjoyable actually, especially once Matsu and Kazehana had left, they had been all over Shinji since the lounge (ESPECIALLY Matsu) and it was giving Miya a new emotion she couldn't name but she knew she didn't like. Takami on the other hand had been furious at what she saw as the 'corruption' of her best friend's pure son.

That said Miya had learned a lot from Shinji himself or learned because of his presence. She'd felt happier than she'd ever been, and learned of feelings that were entirely new to her, ones she didn't really understand yet. She made sure to make a note to ask her only human friend, Takehito about them later.

She also saw Takami in a new light, now she saw her happy and smiling and even protective of her ward. Miya even learned of a new side to Matsu and Kazehana, she'd never seen them act so indirect and careful in showing their affection...relatively speaking. While they were still more direct and touchy than Takami and Miya would like they seemed to have held back a little bit because of his young age. She even learned about Shinji himself, he lacked confidence most of the time but was getting much better now. He was smart, and kind and gentle. He also loved his pseudo family dearly, even if his his pseudo older sister was clingy and tended to coddle him and his pseudo mother was short-tempered and mostly absent he still loved them.

' _I hope my little birds would find an ashikabi like him when they mature,'_ she thought to herself.

What upset her though was when she managed to pull Takami aside while Shinji was talking to one of the computer scientists daughters, a 15 year old genius named Maya Ibuki in the cafeteria. When Miya asked about his family she mentioned that his mother died in 2004 in some lab accident at an organization called GEHIRN, that fact felt like her heart was ripped out, to lose his mother so young? Fate could be cruel she knew but…for it to happen to someone so young and kind and innocent?

What made her almost explode in rage was when Takami mentioned his father, if she wasn't there to calm her down Miya knew she would've asked Matsu to track the man down and she would cut him down where he stood for abandoning Shinji. She didn't care that Takami told him he was probably too deep in his grief, too deep for his son? The only thing in this world that still held a portion of his wife?

She had calmed down somewhat when Takami had mentioned that Shinji doesn't really care about his father anymore, thinking about Takami and her children as his real family after living with them for around two years. Takami didn't like how he regarded his father as less than what he is, Miya thought the man was scum and was just glad the boy could see who loved him and who didn't.

Shinji also enjoyed himself and was not shy in showing it, much to his mother's surprise. In his new 'Miya-nee' he had gained a cool and strong older sister. He had spent an entire day with his mom, and had even met new friends in Matsu-nee and Kazehana-nee, Maya-nee although the first two were a bit more touchy-feely than he would like.

But alas, even good things must come to an end.

But before they left Takami led them to her office, which Miya thought was strange.

"Shin-chan why don't you watch some TV for a bit? I want to talk to Miya for a bit ok?" Takami suggested while pointing at the TV she kept in the corner of her large office. Shinji nodded, noticing it was time for the anime that Yukari and him liked to watch together to start and sat down on the sofa and grabbed the remote. Seeing this Takami motioned Miya to her desk which was in the opposite side of the room.

"Yes Takami-sensei?" Miya asked as Takami sat on her desk and put a cigarette in her mouth, she wanted to smoke but couldn't light it with a child in the room. Miya just stood in front of her, her sword propped onto the wall beside the door.

"You're reacting to him aren't you?" Takami asked bluntly but made sure she was keeping her tone quiet.

"…Yes," Miya replied rather sheepishly. She didn't need to think about it now, oh how foolish she felt for not noticing it earlier.

Takami just sighed and looked Miya in the eye, "Miya you probably won't see him for a while."

That made her hear stop and her eyes to widen.

"W-why?" She asked in disbelief, why were the gods so cruel to take her ashikabi, her destined one away from her?  
"I'm just his guardian remember? His father contacted me and next month he'll be living with his uncle…he won't be close," she explained before, and knowing what Miya was thinking added, "and we both know you can't leave Tokyo-2 without MBI's permission."

Maya just looked at the boy watching his show with bittersweet feelings. He was young yes but she could see the kind man he would grow into but at the same time he was still just a boy, he was growing still and could not control his own fate yet.

And she herself had to stay, who else would lead the disciplinary squad? Who else would hold Karasuba's leash? She had heard plans of releasing numbers six to ten but even with the growth accelerators they had scheduled to finish by then none would have the experience to keep her in line right now. She _had_ to stay.

Takami knew this though and said, "look…Miya, you can spend time with him until his show is over. I'll step outside so just come out and call me…just-just don't do anything too stupid ok? He is my best friend's son."

And as Takami walked out Miya sat beside Shinji who looked up to her and smiled before claiming his spot on her lap. Miya just smiled, hugged her little teddy bear as she knew if they were to meet again he would probably be too big for this and enjoyed his company.

After around 15 minutes she noticed Shinji staring up at her.

"Yes Shinji-kun?" She asked.

"Why are you crying?" He asked with concern as he turned around and moved to a kneeling position facing her to wipe away the tears with his little hands. She had not noticed her crying until then. "Can I make it better?" he asked innocently.

She was flush now, and she knew what would make her feel better. And for once in her life, Miya, Sekirei Number 01, the leader of her race decided to be selfish. So she nodded with a smile before giving a chaste kiss on the young boy's lips.

She made sure to treasure the relatively innocent but nonetheless intimate act, burning into every fiber of her being. She was confident in her skills but she knew her job as the leader of MBI's S-Guard was dangerous, she regularly fought soldiers and machines of war. Her ashikabi was young and living in an unsure post-Impact world. If this was the last time she saw him then she would remember this, forever and ever.

Shinji was blushing before the kiss even started and blushed harder during but enjoyed it nonetheless, contrary to his guardian's opinion he _was_ interested in girls already, Yukari's constant attempts at seducing him had forced that part of him out early. But what got his attention was the ethereal purple wings of light that came out of Miya's back and the slight moan from the older woman. They were…well he didn't know what to call them but beautiful.

Later in life he would thank the stars he didn't taint that memory by associating it with the word 'angel.'

Eventually she broke contact and she was amused to see a cute dumb smile on Shinji's face. She decided that she too would burn that into her memory before giving him a smile she hoped he would burn into his own memory, a warm loving smile she hoped would be his strength in hard times.

"This is the pledge of my soul, the shield who guards against and the sword that will vanquish those who stand before my ashikabi," she gently recited her pledge to him, "This Sekirei Number 01, Miya will protect you and be by your side, forever and ever."

Shinji smiled a warm smile in response, "forever and ever," he repeated. Miya giggled at the cute response before reaching down her top and taking out her dog tags, they were required for all S-Guard members since they were MBI's elite private security force, she took it off and put it around Shinji's neck. His head was still small so she could just easily put it over him.

"Something to remember me by; so be kind, be brave and be strong until we see each other again, ok?" She said to him when she saw him get confused at the gift.

"I promise to be kind and brave and strong!" he replied in response.

Wanting to continue cuddle time with her new and very much adorable ashikabi she picked him up, plopped him on her lap and hugged him like a teddy bear as he finished his show.

They, especially Miya and Shinji, really enjoyed their day but alas all good things must come to an end.

"Bye-bye Miya-nee!" Shinji exclaimed as he waved good bye with one hand while the other firmly grasped Takami's hand as she lead him out the front lobby and to the limo waiting outside.

"I wanna marry Miya-nee!" She heard him say to his pseudo mother, something that caused Takami to flinch before dragging him out the door and flinging him into the limo like a sack of potatoes.

Miya couldn't help but smile as she waved back.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile before," called out a voice from behind her.

Turning around she saw Takehito, still dressed in his lab coat with a knowing smile on his face.

"You reacted to him didn't you?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Miya asked, blinking in surprise.

"Miya you're blushing a little," he pointed out. Indeed, now that he pointed it out, she could feel the warmth on her face. She placed a hand over her chest and felt her heart slowing down to a normal pace as she wondered if it was such a good idea winging herself to a _three_ year old.

' _Yes, I felt it, his kindness and warmth and that fire and steel he showed,'_ she thought.

"Yes he is my ashikabi but…he is still far too young to do anything about it," she half-admitted to a nodding Takehito.

"Oh don't lie to me, I _know_ you did something… _more_ than treat him like a cuddle toy…you know Miya, I never thought you were a shotacon," he said grinning.

Now it was Miya's turn to blush bright red.

 **HHHHHHH**

 **Tokyo-3, Japan**

 **2015 (0 Days to start of the Angel War. Approximately 2 years prior to the start of the Sekirei Plan)**

Shinji Ikari, now 14 years old had just put down the public telephone into the receiver, it had been no help as it was offline due to the state of emergency being declared and had just been repeating the same message over and over again to get to a shelter.

He was dressed in a purple golf shirt and black jeans with grey sneakers, in a different world he may have just wore a white dress shirt and black pants but he had come to love the colour purple and Yukari had beaten dressing nicely into him. He had with him only a duffel bag with some clothing, a shinai and a dull practice katana both in sword bags and slung over his shoulder. In all honesty he didn't know _why_ he brought the practice katana, he should have just shipped it with the rest of his things but the shinai was a good luck charm. It was the very same shinai he had used to win the national middle-school kendo championship a few months back and also a present from Yukari. He hadn't seen the Sahashi family since he was taken in by his uncle, it seemed his father and uncle had _really_ wanted him isolated for some reason.

But Yukari was a formidable force when she was obsessed by something, or in this case, somebody and had somehow developed a network of people she would use as a system to get packages and letters to him. She had kept it a secret to anybody but each other to protect it but it was an impressive thing, a high school student outsmarting NERV without either Shinji or herself knowing she was doing it.

As he wondered why his father had finally contacted him, asking him to come Tokyo-3 with no explanation he reached into his shirt and pulled out the dog tags he had worn ever since meeting a certain purple haired beauty. He remembered her pledge to him well and as he gripped it tight he wished that her wish will protect him until they met again, he had a feeling that his time at Tokyo-3 and whatever his father had in store for him would be awful.

"Forever and ever," he murmured to himself as he remembered his promise to her, a promise he had made an attempt to live up to every single day.

Behind him he heard low loud thudding sounds as the ground seemingly shook with the step of a monster.

The Third Angel, Sachiel the Angel of Water had arrived.

The Angel War has begun.

 **NEXT ON "AN ANGEL AND HIS WAGTAILS"...CHAPTER 1: END OF THE ANGEL WARS, THE BATTLE OF TOKYO-3.**

 **A/N: Remember to check my profile's poll! I've removed the two winners and added new options!**

Since I know you all are curious this is Shinji's harem by Sekirei Number with their power!

Number 01 Miya (Sword)

Number 02 Matsu (Acessing Electronics)

Number 07 Akitsu (Ice)

Number 10 Uzume (Veil)

Number 55 Saki (Swords)

Number 84 Yashima (Hammer/Gravity)

Number 105 Benitsubasa (Hand-to-hand Close Combat)

So Sekirei x Evangelion and Negima! x Evangelion had won out and so they will be my new two crossovers! Make **sure to check out the poll with new options!**

But pls note I will not likely be starting any new stories as I will now have 6 projects to juggle between.

As you all can see this story focuses on the Sekirei Plan but I will be going through the Angel War and the changes this new version of Shinji changed the events as he eventually retells his tale to his flock.

So I hopped you liked my little prologue, I had this lying around actually for an original Sekirei fic but I scrapped it and decided to keep the prologue. I changed it to fit in the eva verse while adding stuff to make it sweet and adorable while also explaining Evangelion back story to Sekirei fans who may not know anything about it since this is happening in the Eva verse.

As for Eva fans I want them to know that Shinji has a VERY different childhood, having spent 2 years with the strong willed Takami and Yukari having influenced his personality somewhat along with a fateful meeting with Miya.

As for all those wondering, yes Minato will still be around and so will his harem...well sans Matsu, she had been one of my favorite Sekirei and I just had to put her into Shinji's harem.


	2. End of The Angel War, Battle of Tokyo-3

**CHAPTER 1: END OF THE ANGEL WARS, BATTLE OF TOKYO-3**

 **IZUMO INN, TOKYO-4, JAPAN**

 **December 31, 2015**

Miya was currently cooking breakfast kitchen of her inn, Izumo Inn is a large two story house in a traditional Japanese style in the northern sector of the city. It had been several years now since she had worked for M.B.I., she had actually retired around two years after meeting Shinji at the old tower at Tokyo-2. She had been legally adopted into the Asama family soon after and she and her friend and also new brother, Takehito Asama had purchased the inn recently since it was their dream to run an in as a pair of siblings.

Currently now she is living with Takehito at the inn, and they were looking forward to opening up the inn in a few days since they have just recently finished their renovations with the help of one of her adoptive brother's friends.

A friend she thought was trash but he has his uses.

"Good morning Miya," greeted Takehito as he came down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Good morning Takehito-niisan," greeted Miya as she continued cooking.

"You know I don't like it when you call me that Miya, you're probably older than me anyway."

"Oh you-"

*RING* *RING* *RING*

"Sorry Miya," apologized Takehito as he pulled out his cellphone, "hello this Takehito speaking…I see…I'll bet there…yeah, bye."

"Where will you be going Takehito?"

"It was a call from Takami, NERV is finally calling in that favor we owe them," explained the white haired scientist.

"I see," muttered Miya. She knew what he was talking about of course. Even though she had left the service of M.B.I. she had stayed in touch with Matsu, Kazehana and a few of the other single digit sekirei, many of whom visit the inn. It's how she found out about M.B.I.'s connection with the mysterious United Nations organization, NERV. The purpose of the organization had never been clear to the public until only earlier in the year with the arrival of the mysterious organisms, powerful and monstrous beings of pure destruction humanity had for whatever reason dubbed 'angels'. Monsters that can take entire armies worth of firepower and barely take a step back, monsters that can only be defeated by giant and equally monstrous mecha that the public were told were called Evangelions and that the development and deployment of them was the purpose of NERV.

NERV had also had a good relationship with M.B.I. ever since Miya could remember. It was a simple relationship, simple technological and research exchange. NERV was interested in the medical technologies and techniques and while at the time the reason was unknown it had become obvious with the arrival of the angels that it was to treat injured pilots. M.B.I. on the other hand received advanced computer and defence technology from NERV to help make up for the loss of the advanced sekirei spaceship that was lost when the rising sea levels after Second Impact swallowed the Kamikura Island where the sekirei's ship crashed.

That was until several years ago when two sekirei, Number 87 Kaho and Number 88 Musubi were kidnapped when they were being transferred from Tokyo-2 to the newly completed Tokyo-4. M.B.I. then requested NERV Central at Tokyo-3 to use their MAGI supercomputer to track down the two missing sekirei and tracked them down they did, to a research facility on an island in the Pacific. And wanting to retrieve the two young aliens as soon as possible M.B.I. requested aid in the raid from NERV because by that point the S-Guard had been replaced by the Disciplinary Squad which only had two, albeit very powerful, members at the time. NERV Central of course accepted but only if M.B.I. could be called on for a similar favour.

While having the ability to call for sekirei into a battle that they may not have any stake in did not sit right with her, she ultimately approved of the decision. With the help of NERV's forces Kaho and Musubi had been retrieved extremely quickly and without incident.

And it seems it's time for that favour.

"Miya I want you to come with me," said Takehito as he finished his breakfast.

"Why Takehito?" Asked Miya, she had left M.B.I. on good terms once she found out about the Sekirei Plan, not wanting any part in the exploitation of her race and she was sick of fighting for a purpose she didn't believe in. Luckily having the backing of Takehito, the top most scientist in M.B.I.'s employ had kept them from trying to force her return.

"Well…"

 **HHHHHHH**

 **NERV HQ MEDICAL WARD, GEOFRONT, TOKYO-3, JAPAN**

 **2 Hours Later**

Asuka Langley Soryu, Second Child of NERV and pilot of Unit-02 is currently looking down on the sleeping form of Shinji Ikari, Third Child of NERV and pilot of Unit-01. He had been in the infirmary for around a month now.

' _All because of me,'_ she thought to herself as she started to quietly cry, she was too proud to weep in shame but she remembered what he had told her once. She was crying in her sleep and he had rushed into her room to check on her and had shook her awake and freed her from the nightmare, sensing she was about to snap at him for catching her in a vulnerable state he had told her it was, _'ok to cry, that he would never judge me or look down on me…and look what I did to you Shinji.'_

Asuka was currently dressed in just a simple red hoody and denim short shorts and running shoes with her golden red hair tied into a single pony tail, she had grown out of tying her hair with her neural clips ever since she had put Shinji in the hospital. He had offhandedly mentioned he had liked the way her hair looked like done up that way it is now a few months back and she had taken to visiting him in a ponytail. It was a petty thing she knew, visiting him in the hairstyle he liked couldn't compare to all he'd done for her and Rei but it was all she could do for him.

Not that she got along with the, as she liked to call her Wonder Girl, First Child and pilot of Unit-00…well until it was destroyed in the battle with the Armisael, The 16th Angel when Rei had engaged her Eva's self-destruct. Luckily she had been able to cut Rei's entry plug free before the countdown could finish and then shield her plug from the blast with Unit-02's AT Field. While she never got along with her she wouldn't wish her dead and knew Shinji would have done the same so in a way she acted for his sake as well.

Actually if she were to be honest with herself she visited him in NERV's medical ward not just for his sake but for her sake as well. He was there to support her after having her mind violated by the 15th Angel and she wasn't sure she would be sane if it wasn't for his constant support. Misato had been too busy searching for the truth about NERV after Kaji died, too stressed and angry to comfort her. _'But you, Baka were always there for me. Calling me if I was ok when I didn't visit and asking it in person when I did.'_

"I'll protect you this time Baka and once this is over and you can walk around again I'm gonna make it up to you. So wait here and I'm gonna smash those bastards that think messing with _THE_ Great Asuka Langley Soryu, and the Invincible Third Child is a good idea," she declared and walked out of the room and towards the Evangelion cages. _'Someone thinks they can hurt you? Not on my watch Third, so enjoy your sleep, your roommate is gonna be back in a bit. Promise.'_

She still remembered that fateful day, it was a month ago when _that_ angel appeared. Arael, the 15th Angel and her worst nightmare, the worst battle she'd ever fought. The angel itself, even she would admit, was breathtakingly beautiful. It looked like a gigantic bird made of pure light that flew in low earth orbit, it's blood red core was visible on the centre of its underbelly.

NERV had deployed her in Unit-02 with an Evangelion sized shield, an improved version of the shield Rei in her Unit-00 had used to defend Shinji from Ramiel's particle beam canon blasts. Shinji on the other hand was armed with a modified version of the JSDF's experimental positron canon which resembled a giant (even for an Eva) sniper rifle. The plan was simple, Asuka would act as bait since Arael was outside of any weapon's range and when it got close enough Shinji would snipe the core.

But as the saying goes, 'no plan survives contact with the enemy.'

Arael had shot down a pillar of light, some strange application of its AT Field, and had for all intents and purposes raped her mind. All her traumas, all her demons, every single fear and nightmare was brought up and relived. Shinji, being the brave baka she knew she could always count on rushed to her side while Rei and Unit-00 killed the angel by throwing a weapon resembling a spear his father called 'The Lance.'

Meanwhile Unit-02's umbilical cable was ejected by the bridge crew in an attempt to cut her off from her Evangelion and also from the angel's influence and it seemed to have work as intended as her Evangelion deactivated.

When Unit-01 arrived to drag her back to an access elevator her Unit-02 chose that time to reactivate and with her pilot in a fit of rage and fear go went berserk and Shinji, not wanting to hurt her, did not fight back and while his Eva was easily repaired…he wasn't.

Eventually she had fallen unconscious and her Eva deactivated but by then the damage was done.

' _But even then, when you woke up a few days later, after all I did to you. After all the bitching I throw at you on a daily basis, what did you say to say when you woke up? You asked if I was ok,'_ she shook her head in slight bemusement. _'And what did I do when you first opened your eyes and spoke to me? Did I ask if you were hurting? Did I say sorry? NO! I let you comfort me...you're hard to hate, you know that Shinji?'_

Shinji had always been a bit strange to her, he was always trying his best to be kind to her and Rei even when she would snap at him from time to time and Rei was...well Rei, almost always stoic. But, while she would never admit it to anyone but herself, she liked that about him as much as she was confused by it. He very rarely was selfish and was always to the point it sometimes infuriated her. And she knew why too, he was always living to try and keep a promise with a woman with purple hair, a woman he hadn't even seen in around a decade. A woman who Asuka did not feel any jealousy towards, oh no…not even a little.

Don't be silly.

Honest.

 **HHHHHHH**

 **On Route to Tokyo-3**

 **2 Hours Later**

Sekirei Number 105 Benitsubasa is currently sitting in a M.B.I. Helicopter, it was one of the new stealth helicopters developed with help from NERV Central's Research and Development Group so that if another sekirei was captured the rescue team could be sent without the kindapers knowing.

NERV had requested aid from M.B.I. to help fend off an attack by the JSSDF. While Takami had been somewhat apprehensive providing aid to NERV once it was declared a rogue organization for termination by the UN, she agreed that with Takehito and, surprisingly enough, Minaka that something about the circumstances seemed wrong and had decided to send a small force consisting of the Disciplinary Squad, two additional sekirei volounteers, medical personal and a few squads of their private security to defend them.

Benitsubasa herself was a girl with a petite build with dark pink eyes and her pink hair tied into a side pony side ponytail with two daisy clips. She had a black top with white trim that resembled a kimono with long sleeves with a large red ribbon tied her waste into a large red bow at her front, she also wore tight fitting black short shorts, red boots and red mixed martial arts gloves.

Currently she was one of the youngest members of the Disciplinary squad. The Disciplinary Squad was M.B.I.'s top security force consisting of Number 04 Karasuba, Number 08 Yume, Number 104 Haihane and Number 105 Benitsubasa.

' _Finally some action!'_ she thought excitedly to herself. While somewhat annoyed that her first foray into real combat is going to be against human soldiers, at the end of the day she was just happy to fight outside of a spar.

Looking around the helicopter she saw the two sekirei who had volunteered to come, why she didn't know but she was excited to fight alongside two members of the legendary S-Guard regardless.

Number 02 Matsu and the legendary Number 01 Miya, the strongest sekirei, she hoped she would leave a good impression on her famous older sisters.

 **HHHHHHH**

Miya was sitting in the chopper quietly looking outside the window. M.B.I.'s force had been split into four groups, each in their own helicopter.

Group One consisted of Karasuba, Yume and Haihane and would be deployed into the access tunnels that the attacking JSSDF soldiers were using to storm the underground base of NERV. Their role was simple, seek and destroy, something she knew Karasuba and Haiahane would enjoy, Yume while as powerful as Karasuba was there mostly to keep her two more uncontrollable comrades inline. No point killing the people they were called to save.

Group Two consisted of Miya, Matsu and Benitsubasa. They would be deployed at the NERV HQ building itself and would eliminate any JSSDF forces that have penetrated that deeply into the facility before their arrival and take any orders from the surviving NERV command staff. They were the most flexible group, possessing Miya as a combat powerhouse, Matsu who was no use in combat but could hack any electronics and Benitsubasa who was no slouch in a fight herself and not to mention more in control of herself than Karasuba and Haihane.

Group Three and Four consisted of the medical teams and their escorts and would be deployed to the shelters at the outside of the city perimeter to help any of the civilians that have been injured and escaped the city itself.

Miya was dressed in a grey version of the old S-Guard uniform, to differentiate herself from the Disciplinary Squad, and had her sword hanging off the waist holster she had had made all those years ago. Matsu was dressed the same, she didn't know why the brain type sekirei volunteered to also come but she didn't care, the more help the better. While she hadn't seen her young ashikabi in years she could still feel small bits of his general emotions periodically through their link, she guessed she could only feel the stronger outbursts as she didn't feel anything most days.

In all honesty she only realized it once she could feel the loneliness from him around one month after they met, when Shinji was scheduled to leave the Sahashi household. It didn't take her long to put two and two together. It took all her willpower not to leave and bring him back with her.

Then, at the same day the Angel War started and, what she would later know to be, Evangelion Unit-01, engaged an angel in Tokyo-3. At that time, and during every angel attack after, she could _feel_ the fear, the rage and the pain her ashikabi was suffering.

It was torture for her, and while she was glad she could feel him being happy as well but it was only a small comfort.

And now as she approached Tokyo-3 she could feel her bond with her Shinji strengthen, she could feel him coming closer.

It confirmed her worst fears. Her ashikabi, her Shinji; that kind, innocent and brave boy with deep blue eyes and chocolate brown hair was fighting a war.

And she didn't do a damn thing to help him.

 **HHHHHHH**

*CRUNCH!*

Retracting her fist from the JSSDF soldier whose head she had just cratered into a wall Benitsubasa took a breath to calm herself, she had been taught to be aggressive sure but she didn't want to lose herself to the adrenaline rush of combat like her sisters Karasuba and Haihane.

She and her group had just reached the command bridge and had just finished off the last of the commandos that were attacking. Luckily they were quick and had reached it and saved all the important staff.

' _Well, not so bad, being a god damn hero,'_ she thought to herself as she walked towards Miya and Matsu. They were being approached by two humans, a purple haired woman in a black dress with a silver cross necklace and red leather jacket, the other was an older man in a black uniform. _'Must be who's in charge.'_

"Thank you for saving us, I am Kozo Fuyutsuki and the Vice-Commander of NERV," the older man introduced himself before gesturing to the woman beside him, "this is Major Misato Katsuragi, Operations Director at NERV Central."

"I see, I am Miya," introduced the powerful alien before gesturing to her glasses wearing sister then the younger pinkette, "and this is Matsu and Benitsubasa."

"Sirs! MAGI report a hacking attempt from both MAGI-02 and MAGI-03 in Germany and MAGI-05 in the US!" exclaimed a man in glasses, Benitsubasa guessed he was a technician.

"I can help with that," said Matsu.

"Thank you Matsu," replied Miya.

"Of course Miya-tan!"

Both Misato and Fuyutsuki had already received a brief description via encoded transmission from M.B.I. warning that the three women before them weren't exactly human and besides they were too pressed with defending NERV HQ to care how she would help them.

"Maya what's the status on Unit-02?" the major asked with an obvious worry. That caught the attention of the three sekirei, they had never seen an Evangelion as NERV and the UN had kept a tight hold on any information outside of the name Evangelion and the name of the three active units.

"Give me a minute….monitor online again…reconnecting…and up!" A woman who the pinkette assumed is named Maya.

And on the screen was an image that brought awe to both her and Miya, Matsu was too busy to see as she was focusing on assisting NERV HQ's own MAGI supercomputer.

On the screen was a 40 metre tall red titan with segmented armor and a lean runner's physique. It had a vaguely humanoid armored head with four glowing green eyes. Before humanity's monster was a shattered army. Men and machines were strewn all over the floor of the underground cavern of the Geofront and near the lake was a destroyer torn in half and thrown out of the water and onto its side.

"Holy shit," muttered Sekirei 105, she had seen footage of the S-Guard protecting Kamikura Island, had seen serkireis 01 through 05 tear through an attack force.

But this…

This was like the God of War himself descended and made its wrath known.

"Misato! Finally! Took you long enough getting the coms back online," said a female voice. Looking to the upper right of the display the two sekirei could see a young and beautiful girl with sapphire blue eyes and fiery red hair with two clips on top of her head and she wore a red form fitting body suit.

"Asuka! Good work," replied the Major in a joyful tone.

"How's my Baka?"

" _Your_ Baka, Asuka?" replied the older woman with a sly grin causing the redhead to blush and sputter in embarrassment, "he's fine Asuka he still-"

"Actually," the woman previously identified as Maya interjected, "he's awake. His Section-2 detail is saying he's requesting to be brought to the Eva cages ma'am."

"WHAT?! NO!" screamed the redhead, "he's hurt!"

"I know Asuka bu-"

*BOOM!*

A massive explosion shook the Geofront as the underground cavern's ceiling disappeared in a bright flash of light.

"MULTIPLE N2 DETONATIONS DETECTED!" Screamed a technician with glasses, "three unknown airborne units detected above the Geofront!"

Looking back up at the screen they could see the massive hole where the ceiling of the massive cavern was, exposing the battlefield and the red Unit-02 to the outside world as three black transport aircraft circled overhead.

"No..." muttered Matsu in a worried tone which got everyone's attention, "damn."

"What is it Matsu?" Miya asked, still watching the screen as doors opened on the black transport craft and three white figures flew down from each.

"Evangelions," responded Matsu with her eyes still in concentration, "I've hacked the MAGI in the United States…they're called the EVA Series, mass produced Evangelions."

As she finished a sense of dread descended the command bridge, even the usually spirited Asuka was quiet as she steeled herself for her toughest fight yet as she eyed the nine MP Evas fly down in a slow spiral. They were monstrous, not as scary in her opinion as the demonic visage of Shinji's Unit-01 but they were more unsettling, they looked...wrong. Their bodies and armor resembled those of Units 00, 01 and her 02 except they were bone white. Their heads were elongated with no eyes or facial features outside of a mouth in a perpetual toothy grin with bright red lips and razor sharp teeth; each carried a massive double edged sword and had two pairs of massive black and white wings.

"Damn," muttered Misato before facing the three sekirei, "I need one of you to go down with me to the infirmary, one of my pilots is there now."

' _Chance!' Benitsubasa thought to herself, 'sitting here won't do me any good. Besides, if I'm lucky I can kick some more ass!'_

"I'll go," she replied with a grin.

"Good follow me," Misato said as she drew her pistol, racked the slide and ran off to retrieve the Third Child with a pink haired sekirei in tow.

 **HHHHHHH**

*Bang! Bang!*

As Misato downed another JSSDF soldier Benitsubasa couldn't help but feel impressed by her temporary human companion. She was brave and was a hell of a shot.

' _No match for a sekirei but impressive for a human,'_ she thought as they raced down the halls of NERV's medical ward to the room of another Eva pilot. Benitsubasa was curious, the people she had met at NERV so far had been at least interesting, Misato and the redheaded pilot had earned her respect quickly and she was curious what the other pilot would be like.

Seeing a group of two soldiers ahead she picked up the pace and rushed them in a black and pink blur of speed. They opened fire but the bullets were easy to dodge as she zigged and zagged and kicked off the walls making herself too hard to hit. Reaching the soldier on the left she grabbed his rifle's barrel with her left hand and ripped it out of his hand as she slammed a right hook into his temple, shattering bone and killing him instantly. Then with a grin on her face she used the momentum of her punch and used it to spin and launch a spinning back kick with her left foot into the face of the last soldier and with her extending her leg fully smashed his head into paste against the wall.

Misato was a bit frightened of the pinkette but held her peace, her Shinji, the boy who was like a son to her was in danger. She had heard his Section-2 detail call for back up on the radio when they were in the elevator, they were pinned down and as skilled as they were they were no match for a prlounged assault by JSSDF commandos.

"Come on!" she shouted as she ran passed the pink haired alien who soon followed behind.

As they reached his room Misato's heart sank, the door had been kicked in and his four Section-2 bodyguards lay dead outside, they had taken around 15 JSSDF troops with them but she was more concerned about survivors as she heard a struggle in the room.

Benitsubasa, not one to waste time, dashed into the room to see a site she had not expected to see. A young teenage boy wearing a slightly bloody hospital gown was holding a scalpel, said scalpel was buried into the neck of a soldier who was on his back as the teen had mounted him. The teen had a few fresh bruises on his face; he had obviously been fighting for his life but looked remarkably unharmed.

' _Well for an injured person, I'm impressed, the training the pilots get must be no joke,'_ she thought to herself.

The boy, the pilot she correctly assumed, had dark brown hair and deep dark blue eyes.

' _Well…damn isn't he cute?'_ she absently mindedly thought as she stared at him. In fact she was so out of it, even for that second, that she failed to notice another soldier on the ground at the other end of the room. He was bleeding out, a consequence of underestimating a hospitalized boy who was also combat hardened Eva pilot, but he would be damned if he died alone.

So he raised his pistol and aimed at the first thing he saw, his vision blurred and loosing colour he aimed at the standing figure that just burst into the room.

Shinji hearing the rustling of clothes behind him, turned around to see one of his attackers aiming at the girl who just ran into his room and he went into action and jumped to push her down, "GET DOWN!"

*BANG!* *BANG!*

"Wha-oof!" Benitsubasa's lost balance at the sudden movement. Lifting her head she saw a mop of brown hair on her chest and she could feel her face flushing in anger and something she couldn't pin down. _'That little pervert human! I sho-'_ her thoughts were halted as she felt the tell-tale feeling of warm liquid, it was blood but she knew she wasn't hit.

Looking over him she saw that Misato had shot the soldier and seeing it was safe gently rolled the teen over and to her horror she saw red blood seeping through the chest are of his gown, the reason he was originally hospitalized she guessed, and from a fresh gunshot wound on his shoulder. She felt angry at herself; both for letting him save her when it should be the other way around and for losing her concentration in battle.

"Shinji! Get up come on, Asuka needs your help! We need to get to the cages!" Shouted Misato as Benitsubasa gently helped Shinji up who gave a pained groan in response.

"Hey come on," she told him in as gentle a voice she could do, she'd never really comforted anyone before. "Come on, I gotcha. I won't let them them touch you, got it?" she told him as he got on his feet.

"T-thanks...aahh," he hissed and she involuntarily cringed, oddly _really_ disliking how much pain he was in. Seeing this, Shinji shot her a strained smile and she found a bit of pink on her cheeks.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, she gently draped one of his arms over her shoulder, awkwardly told him a few more comforting words and put an arm on his waste to support him. She could tell he was still weak from being in a hospital bed even if he tried to hide it with a smile, he would have trouble walking properly once the adrenaline from fighting two commandos had emptied from his system/

And as she held him tight, trying to be as gentle as possible at the same time, she could feel a strange warmth from the touch and finally she knew what she felt.

' _Oh hell.'_

 **HHHHHHH**

Asuka calmed herself down as she looked out at the scene in front of her, the sight of nine dead Evangelions. The fight had been hard, especially without any of her fellow pilots beside her like usual but she had prevailed. She had smashed four of the nine's entry plugs and _heavily_ damaged four others while the few surviving defense turrets had vaporized the entire upper half of the ninth with ALL of their remaining ammunition.

A testament to the toughness of the Evangelions as weapons.

That said she did notice that the MP Evas' manufacturing process seemed to have been rushed as corners seemed to have been cut. Their heads seemed to lack the strong cranial armor of her and Shinji's Evangelions. Their armor seemed lackluster as well and they seemed to lack an AT Field as she hadn't encountered one and even their physical strength seemed lacking.

She had also finally, in the heat of battle with her focus as sharp as a razor, had reached 100% synchronization with her Unit-02, she felt one with her red titan. She was at least happy about that, Shinji had reached reached 100% a few times before which infuriated her.

It was the reason some of the staff had taken to calling him 'Berserker' when he wasn't looking and as much as his synch scores annoyed her she _hated_ when people called him that. He only ever got that way when the fighting was desperate and even then he had a purpose and control to his movements. His kenjutsu gave him good control over himself even in times of great stress, she had secretly taken lessons from him for that reason.

She also wondered if the MP Evas pilots were trained at all, their movements seemed clumsy and...like animals. She doubted the Asuka from before she took lessons from Shinji would have been impressed.

In truth though she didn't want to smash the entry plugs, she had been trained to save humanity not to kill pilots but then she remembered what Shinji did when he faced the 17th and final angel.

Tabris

Or as she and Shinji knew him, Kaoru Nagisa the Fifth Child and back-up pilot for Unit-01 and Unit-02. He was a weird kid in her opinion, with light grey hair and blood red eyes like Rei has. He had quickly gotten friendly with Shinji, friendlier than she would like but held her piece as Shinji seemed to genuinely enjoy his company and even she admitted to liking listening to them play music with Shinji on his cello and Kaoru on the piano.

But he wasn't human, he was an angel and had hijacked her Unit-02 when he was in it for a synch test and in the end Shinji had been forced to kill one of his precious few friends. And if he could do that, sacrifice a bit of his own personal happiness to protect them all then she too could make a tough decision.

That said he would never forgive Kaoru until the day she died for that, the sheer grief and despair that was on the usually cheery Shinji's face was something she silently promised to never ever let happen again.

She shook her head to focus, she was alone on the battlefield after all.

' _Ok once this is done I am SO going to apologize to Shinji about making fun of his three solo angel kills on Over The Rainbow,'_ she decided.

She was worried about him too, he was hurt and still recovering from both the 15th and 17th Angels and he hadn't heard about him reaching his Eva…or any news about him really. _'Come on Asuka! Focus!'_

She eyes her battery timer, her umbilical had been cut in the middle of the fight so she had been using emergency battery power near the end. She held back a curse as the timer reached 20 seconds, _'oh I am sooo suggesting...nay demanding we upgrade the damn batteries.'_

*Shuffle*

"What the hell was that?" she muttered as she, and by consequence, Unit-02's head turned to the right.

To her horror she saw one of the EVA Series stagger up to a lazy standing position, it had one of her progressive knives jammed to the hilt into the top of its head and had an arm ripped off, an arm to her horror that was quickly regenerating.

To her front right another of the EVA Series, one she had punched through its head and still had brain hanging out also staggered upright.

To her left an MP Evangelion who she had literally disarmed with her progressive knives at the start of the fight, an MP Evangelion she then ripped its spine out from its mouth staggered upright. Its spine was still obviously regenerating as the upper body flopped around, she would have called it pathetic if the rapidly regenerating arms weren't such a bad indication of what might happen.

And behind it she could one of the MP Evas that had both legs severed and then decapitated crawling towards her.

' _Well fuck,'_ she thought to herself as her timer reached ten seconds. _'I am not going to die here! I have so much left to do! So much left to say! Not against some damn zombies!'_

[BATTERY: 0:00:09]

She shifts into a defensive posture with her remaining progressive knife in her Eva's right hand.

[BATTERY: 0:00:07]

Pain lances through her. With her synchronization so high she not only felt her Eva's pain like usual, no this time her Eva's injuries manifested on her own person. She could feel the cut on her abdomen leek blood, luckily the wound was shallow. More problematic was her hurt left arm and her broken left leg. The only reason her Eva was standing was the armor encasing the Eva's left thigh and the dense muscle around the snapped bone kept it from moving.

[BATTERY: 0:00:05]

The farthest most MP Eva, the one that was crawling towards her had pushed itself into a sitting position and threw its massive sword and it shape shifted into a spear. The action caught her off guard and she knew she wouldn't be able to dodge in time.

…but the hit never came, no pain.

[BATTERY: 0:00:03]

Opening her eyes she could see the form of Evangelion Unit-01. It's body and armor resembled all the other Evas in existence, except the majority of its armor was purple with a few bright neon green segments and black highlights. Its head seemed to be a mix between a demon and a samurai helmet. It had grey jaws clamped shut and two black slits where the white glow of the Eva's eyes could be seen and it had one horn.

Thinking quickly to use the best use of the last of her power she called out to her fellow Eva Pilot, "SHINJI, SMASH THE PLUGS!"

And her world went dark.

 **HHHHHHH**

"SHINJI, SMASH THE PLUGS!" he heard Asuka shout before her Eva deactivated.

Looking around he couldn't help but be impressed, four dead MP Evas due to her own doing and four damaged but regenerating, impressive considering she was alone and had to use battery power. Plus she didn't have anything but her knives.

And while he also only had his knives (plus the stolen sword) too, he didn't have to worry about running out of power since his Unit-01 devoured the S2 core of the 14th Angel, Zeruel. He guessed the EVA Series also had S2 cores since they didn't have any power cables and knew such fast regeneration would require a lot of power.

' _As impressive as always Asuka,'_ he thought. She had never ceased to amaze him in all honesty, always a burning flame of life, never backing down. _'Yes she has her times of weakness but that's what makes her human.'_

Looking around he sees one of the MP Evas, the one whose spear he had caught (and had turned back into a sword strangely enough) was still sitting on the ground and without a head, _'Well I won't have to worry about that one for a while.'_

The other three were more dangerous as they had seemed to make a full recovery, except for the one on his right still had a progressive knife sticking out of its head.

He could feel his heart race and his adrenaline flowing through him starting to numb the pain from the wounds on his own chest and shoulder even as blood leaked into the LCL that filled his entry plug.

' _Asuka's in danger. Misato's in danger. Maya-san, Aoba-san, and Hyuga-san are in danger. Rei is in danger. That pink haired girl is in danger…I WON'T LET YOU HURT THEM!'_ he screamed in anger in his mind. He took a deep breath, not to calm himself, but to control himself.

Anger and aggression were useful motivators in a life or death battle but blind rage was dangerous to both sides, Unit-02 putting him in the hospital was perfect proof.

But as his old kenjutsu instructor, may he rest in peace, once said, _'controlled fury is more than dangerous, its lethal.'_

He could feel his synchronization with his Eva increase. Eyeing the heads up display in his entry plug he could see his synchronization climb to 100%. He couldn't help but smile a little, _'it looks like the warrior in Asuka rubbed off on me.'_

 **HHHHHHH**

Miya watched the purple Evanvelion, the one the bridge staff called Unit-01 and she _knew_ her ashikabi was inside. _'Please gods watch over him,'_ she prayed.

"Shinji's synch ratio at 100%!...105…110%!" she heard the female technician call out.

As she did Unit-01 uttered a low bestial growl that reverberated through the Geofront before its jaws unclamped with a snap and it let out a monstrous howl that caused the MP Evas on their feet to take a few steps back in fear.

*RaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAWR!*

"What a monster," Miya muttered.

"To destroy monsters humanity had to make monsters of its own," the Vice-Commander said to her as she wondered what it was her ashikabi was the pilot of.

' _What kind of machine ROARS and growls?'_ she grimly wondered.

*RAH!* Grunted Unit-01 as it launched itself to the MP Eva on its right, the one with a knife in it, and swung its stolen sword in a horizontal arc. The MP Eva moved to block but the sheer strength of the purple destroyed caused the MP Eva to be launched backwards as its arm bones shattered from the force, knocking it out of the fight while it regenerated.

Instead of finishing it off Shinji knew he had to get the EVA Series away from the downed Unit-02, so he spun and launched himself left into the MP Eva that had a bit of brain still exposed. The white Eva moved to block with its own sword but Shinji had not let his kenjutsu training slip since joining NERV. It was the reason a sword was made for his Unit-01, which was sadly destroyed in the battle with Zeruel.

Using the swing that sent the first Eva flying he continued into a spin with a slight upward angle. Removing his left Eva's left hand from the sword it grabbed one of his progressive knives.

*CLANG!* *CRACK!*

When both monstrous swords met the the impact sent out shock wave as the pressure wave from the clashing of blades broke the sound barrier with a crack! The upward momentum of Unit-01's sword sent the sword of the MP Eva upwards and out of its hand into the air and using the momentum while flipping the progressive knife into a reverse grip, he cut off the enemy Eva's head which momentarily stunned his foe. Once again continuing the spin he flattened the arc of the sword in his right hand into a flat horizontal swing and cleaved straight through the MP Eva's upper body and entry plug.

One down, three to go.

"Blood?!" said Miya in surprise, she had expected machines not…whatever unholy abominations she was currently watching battle.

Seeing another MP Eva in front of him, one that still seemed to have issues with its spine, came charging at him with a downwards horizontal strike. Unit-01 took a short, by Eva standards, jump backwards and threw the prog knife right into enemy unit's chest and it went down to the hilt, the force of the throw causing it to stumble backwards. Unit-01 pressed the advantage and charged and stabbed its sword through the MP Eva's chest and twisting it causing the sound of flesh ripping and bone snapping to be heard throughout the Geofront. Seeing the enemy's entry plug Unit-01 reached in with its left hand, grabbed it, pulled it out and crushed it in its hand.

Two more.

The MP Eva with a knife stuck into it surprised everyone in the bridge as it had seemed to have recovered and charged Unit-01 from behind.

"SHINJI! BEHIND YOU!" one of the technicians called out to the pilot.

' _Gods so it is him, and here I am not doing anything again,'_ Miya thought in frustration.

Unit-01 turned around to see the MP Eva charge it in apparent rage as it clumsily threw its sword at the purple Eva which easily sidestepped it, causing it to miss. Unit-01 kicked it right in the chest, sending it crashing onto its back.

"GAH!" Miya heard a familiar male voice gasped out in pain over the radio. She felt like her heart was ripped out as the headless white Eva had dragged itself and _caught_ the sword Unit-01 sidestepped and stabbed Unit-01 in the lower back, causing the purple Evangelion to drop its own massive sword. The pain caused the purple Eva to stumble forward and onto a knee, turning around it's left eye was slashed by the white Eva and Shinji cried out again, "FUCK!"

Unit-01 used its right arm to grab its final progressive knife and it hummed to life and it used its kneeling position like an Olympic runner to launch itself at the white Eva which was still had its sword swinging out and leaving it vulnerable. And with another roar Unit-01 tackled the headless MP Eva, flipped it over and slammed the knife into its back where the entry plug was and destroyed it.

One more.

Unit-01 stood and immediately spun to face the last MP Eva who was just now stumbling to a standing position as Unit-01 sprinted and stopped in front of it. Grabbing the progressive knife still stuck to its head with both hands Unit-01 cut down from the top of the enemy Evangelion's head to its groin. The knife though was not long enough to cut through all the way and bisect the MP Eva and instead just cut _very_ deep. Dropping the knife Unit-01 stuck both hands into the MP Eva's chest and with a mighty roar ripped the MP Eva's chest open.

Armored groaned and broke from the strain, muscles ripped, bone was snapped and crushed under the furious strength of the mighty Unit-01.

Blood sprayed all over Unit-01 covering it and the surrounding area in red Evangelion blood. Then to the surprise of Miya, Unit-01 shoved it's head into the enemy Evangelion's chest and when it came out the enemy's entry plug lay in its jaws and was promptly crushed.

The effect in the bridge was immediate as the technicians celebrated with Maya congratulating the pilots on a job well don't, "Good job Shinji, that was the last one. I've already sent out a recovery team for Asuka."

"Agreed," said the Vice-Commander, "but I will require you to be stay out there Pilot Ikari to deter any surviving JSSDF forces while I contact the UN."

"U-understood," Shinji replied in obvious pain.

Miya cringed but kept her peace, it was a logical decision. She also wondered how much her ashikabi had changed? What had to have changed for the adorable and sweet boy of her dreams to fight so brutally and efficiently? Not that she wasn't impressed with his sword technique but that was far far from her mind now.

"Miss Miya," the Vice-Commander addressed her.

"Yes Vice-Commander?"

"I need you to find the Commander…no as of this moment the ex-Commander of NERV. One of our pilots had disappeared from her room in the medical ward but we had not had time to find her and suspect he has taken her," the old human explained.

"Shinji's father?" she asked and Fuyutsuki raised a brow in surprise at how close she seemed to be to Shinji if her tone was any indication, as if they've known each other. Miya on the other hand was hiding the fury burning in her. She knew his father abandoned him and then took him away from a family who loved him and if the loneliness she occasionally felt from her ashikabi was an indication his new family was nowhere near as good to him. And then he forced his son to fight in a war against powerful monsters.

She could not protect her Ashikabit from the angels or from the white MP Evangelions but this monster of a man? She could at least protect him from that.

Fuyutsuki could feel the killing intent coming from the purple haired swordswoman in front of him and was surprised. It was obvious to him that she cared dearly for Shinji but he didn't care why, he was just glad there was more than just a handful of NERV personnel and a couple of friends at school that cared about one of his pilot's safety.

"You may eliminate him if you deem it necessary," he told her. In truth he knew Gendo Ikari was obsessed, dangerously so and he had finally gotten sick of following his past student. He too missed Yui but this? Using her own son and his fellow pilots, she, ending the world in Third Impact? He couldn't lie to himself any longer.

Miya nodded and received directions from the Vice-Commander before she went out of the bridge and he contacted the UN.

 **HHHHHHH**

Miya arrived at the bottom most level of NERV. In a massive underground chamber was a lake of some kind of orange liquid she did not recognize. In the middle of the lake of orange and nailed to a giant red cross was a giant white humanoid being that was missing its body from the waist down but she couldn't care less about what it was. Near the edge of the lake was a man with brown hair and a beard, he wore the same uniform as the Vice-Commander and she knew that this man was the target of her fury.

The girl with light blue hair and blood red eyes behind him she assumed was the third pilot she had been told about. In between the two of them was a woman in a lab coat with blond hair who had been shot dead.

"Who are you?" He asked as he aimed his pistol at the purple haired swordswoman.

"You have hurt someone precious to me," she said as she calmly walked towards them and griped her blade and ignored his question. "You have made him suffer for a _decade_. You are not deserving to be called a human, you do not deserve to be his father. To save him and to extract vengeance for all you have done to harm him, my precious ashikabi," she said in barely controlled fury. "I have become the killer I once was, one last time. And now? I. Will. End. You," she told him.

*BANG!*

One shot that didn't hit was the only thing he had time for before Miya had removed his head from his shoulders and he was dead before he hit the ground.

Miya, not wasting her time on what she considered trash, flicked her sword to remove the blood before returning it to its sheath. She turned to her right to the young girl and was expecting to see her afraid but was surprised to see a small smile on the girl's face.

"Are you the third pilot? Are you hurt?" Miya asked.

"No, thank you," she replied in a quiet voice.

"Good now follow me to the command bridge," Miya said as she turned around and led the bluenette back to safety before the girl she saved asked her a question that made her blush bright red.

"Why do you smell like Shinji-kun?"

'… _wait how does she know how he smells?'_

 **HHHHHHH**

With the battle between the Evangelions over Benitsubasa currently stood guard over the sleeping form of Shinji Ikari.

She had stayed at the Evangelion cages to make sure they were secure and clear of enemies when the pilots came back, she would have liked to have seen her future ashikabi in action but had reminded herself that she was lucky to have found him so early in the first place. Still she would have wanted to see the battle.

Or so she thought.

When Unit-01 arrived at the cage she noted heavy damage to one of the mecha's eyes and some red liquid was flowing from the gash and from another gash on the machine's back. Once it had come to a stop she had followed the medical team to the cockpit, which she had learned was called an entry plug. Once the orange liquid she was told was called LCL had drained and the plug had opened, what she saw made it feel like her heart was ripped out.

Her future ashikabi had to be taken out by the medical team and he was hurt.

Bad

He was barely conscious from exhaustion and blood loss. The same eye that was damaged on his mecha was bleeding and obviously received some damage. The wounds on his chest, the ones he was originally hospitalized for had reopened and he had a large bleeding wound on his back. Her future ashikabi, her destined one was hurt and bleeding and she could do nothing but take deep breaths to calm herself.

She was angry and frustrated and had clenched her fists so tightly that she could feel her fingernails dig into her gloves, if she fought barehanded she knew that she would have drawn blood from the force.

It was the reason she had volunteered to be the one that would guard his room. Miya and Karasuba had gone off to escort the surrendered JSSDF troops out of the Georfront while Yume and Matsu had stayed at the command bridge. That left her or Haihane to guard the unconscious Third Child and she would be damned if she would let Haihane guard her destined partner.

' _I'll protect you while I'm here_ ,' she thought to herself. She wanted to stay longer, she had found her ashikabi after all but she couldn't. She needed to return to Tokyo-4 and M.B.I. so she would stay with him for now at least. In all honesty it took all she had to keep herself from winging herself on his sleeping form right now.

' _What kind of girl would he think I am if I k-kissed him in his sleep,'_ she thought to herself with a blush. Looking around the room and sat down on the chair beside his bed, took off her gloves and held one of his hands with both of her own, enjoying the sensation from the skin-to-skin contact. _'I need to get stronger, strong enough to protect you when we meet again,'_ she decided.

She remembered how he had selflessly gotten shot for her sake and how even when he was hurt he tried to smile for her. How even when bleeding he still fought in his Evangelion to protect everyone in NERV HQ, _'...to protect me...Well I'll be damned, I got a good ashikabi didn't I?'_

Hearing the door open she turned around to see Major Misato Katsuragi walk in. Misato saw the pink haired girl and smiled, "hey Beni-chan."

"I have a nickname now?" Benitsubasa asked with a raised brow before shrugging it off and returning her attention to the resting boy in bed. Seeing him shiver slightly she momentarily removed one hand from his to pull up his blanket and tuck him in before returning her hand to its rightful place, "checking on your pilot?"

"Well yes," she admitted and walked over to the two, "but I'm more concerned for Shinji Ikari right now and not Pilot Ikari, he's like a son to me you know?"

"You raised him well then ," Benitsubasa said with a smile as she looked upon the sleeping face of her future ashikabi, _'I haven't known him long but he made a hell of a first impression.'_

"I can see I did," Misato said in a knowing town when she noticed the pinkette holding Shinji's hand had a bit of pink on her cheeks.

"Shut up, I'm just thankful for when he saved me earlier!" she half shouted and half whispered.

"Well he does have a hero complex but what are you going to do? Aren't you leaving soon?"

"I am…Major Katsuragi-"

"Call me Misato."

"Misato-san can you tell him to come to visit me at Tokyo-4?" Benitsubasa asked with a tint of hope.

Misato just smiled at her, "of course but I don't think he'll be able to visit anytime soon, he'll be busy as soon as he recovers."

"I'll wait, don't worry," the sekirei replied. _'I've found him now, if all I have to do is wait a bit then I'll wait."_

 **NEXT ON AN ANGEL AND HIS WAGTAILS - CHAPTER 2: TOKYO-4 AND ALIEN GIRLFRIENDS!**

So there you go the Angel War has finished and Shinji had met another one of his future sekirei! Fear not, I will still make mention of the events of the Angel War and Shinji's life at Tokyo-3 via talking to his sekirei and flashbacks.

Next chapter will have a time skip of around a year and a few months as Shinji finally heads off to Tokyo-4! There he will be reuniting with Takami, Minato, Miya, Benitsubasa and will be meeting Uzume. I'll also be featuring Rei for the first time in my story, I've had people mention or think of her but Shinji's half-sister will finally appear. And last but not least explain how the lives of Rei, Asuka, and Shinji have and have not changed with the defeat of the angels and what NERV is up to now.

I've always planed to use this chapter to show how this Shinji had acted differently during the Angel Wars, and as my fellow Eva fans can see I've revealed that the battle with Arael and Armisael had gone vastly differently along with bits about how he acted outside of fighting angels and hinted at his relationships with his fellow pilots and other NERV staff.

And also how does Asuka feel about Shinji? Why is she jealous (or is she?) of a certain purple haired alien? Will she be joining Baka-Shinji's harem? How will she react to him HAVING a harem? Oh wouldn't you like to know? HA ha!

See you all later!


	3. Tokyo-4 and Alien Girlfriends (updated)

**AN:** Edited, removed old AN.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2: TOKYO-4 AND ALIEN GIRLFRIENDS!**

 **NERV 03 (Acting as Temporary NERV HQ), Hamburg, Germany**

 **Training Room**

 **April, 2017 (Phase One of Sekirei Plan already underway)**

Sitting up against the wall were two youths who had just finished a friendly hand-to-hand sparring session.

Both are currently alone, not surprising though since a lot of people are afraid of them and had left the training room when they arrived. The only people who hadn't left right away were a small group of NERV Commando's, they had gone on missions together on various occasions and thanks to that they had come to trust and respect each other. While they did still end up leaving that was due to them being called for something and not because of any sort of mistrust for the two children.

Most would have considered them humans with just strange looking hair and eyes and to all intents and purposes they were but to NERV they were known as the Nephilim. Named after the offspring of Angels and humans, they are the two pilots who had achieved such a high synch ratio with Eva that they had been changed by what some call "The Curse of Eva."

A lot has happened in the few years since the Battle of Tokyo-3. Battles and hardship continued as NERV and the world hunted SEELE and with their recent success the children can finally start to live a little like they should, as children.

"You *gasp* suck *gasp* Baka Shinji," Asuka said as she gasped for air. She and Shinji had just finished a friendly light spar, although if any normal human had observed them they probably wouldn't have used the word 'light to describe it. "I got 4 hits on you!"

With the time that passed since she and Shinji first met on UNS Over the Rainbow she had changed a fair bit. Her figure had gotten more mature and beautiful since then while her skin was still flawless like before. Her hair is still the same fiery red but she now prefers to style it in a ponytail since due to advances in technology pilots no longer need to wear neural clips.

It being what Shinji liked being just a coincidence of course, one hundred percent chance.

Her bright blue eyes had turned an ethereal otherworldly red around a month after the battle with the MP Evas and her finally reaching 100% synch with her Unit-02. Not that she minded mind you, it was and still is her favorite colour and while she was initially annoyed she shared the same eye colour with Rei she quickly got over it.

"Yeah *gasp* yeah, Asuka," Shinji said. He knew better than to argue with Asuka over something so minor and so decided to concentrate on regaining his breath. "Whatever you say."

Shinji too had changed since he first came to Tokyo-3 and now. He has become taller, with him now visibly taller than Asuka. His hair though is no longer the dark chocolate brown it used to be and had become an unnatural snow white. His eye colour hadn't changed, still the same deep blue that Asuka secretly loved. He also now wore a black eye patch over his left eye, a reminder of his own battle against the MP Evas.

"I really wish the repairs on the Geofront would finish soon…and the work on my Unit-02," Asuka said with a sigh as she scooted over so she could lean on her friend and fellow pilot.

Shinji raised a brow at the unexpected contact but mentally shrugged it off and just shifted his posture to make it more comfortable for Asuka and himself. "Well they did literally blow the roof off right? I can't even imagine how much money the UN is spending to rebuild it and all the damage at NERV HQ"

"You don't need to imagine it, you can just find out," Asuka reminded him. Soon after the JSSDF assault Fuyutsuki, as the new Commander of NERV, had told them all of NERV's deepest and darkest secrets, as Eva pilots who risked and continued to risk their lives he had thought it appropriate.

Asuka had actually given him a black eye after he told them that the souls of her and Shinji's mothers are trapped in their respective Evangelions with only Shinji holding her back preventing her doing anything more violent. That was until Fuyutsuki mentioned how Rei is the second in a series of clones made from the DNA of both his mother and the Second Angel. The new Commander of NERV barely had time to finish saying that Rei had been raised to be an emotionless doll and that multiple copies had been stored in the basement before Shinji had blacked the older man's other eye. Of course Asuka being Asuka did not hold back her fellow pilot and had instead cheered him on.

Now promoted to the rank of Captain in the UN Military and as part of NERV's inner circle and still the only two Eva pilots in the world they both had a frightening amount of pull that they could exert. Finding out budgetary information would have been easy.

Shinji just sighed, "you know what I mean Asuka. But it can't be helped, even with enough funding the damage was severe, it'll take at least a year for just the Geofront and NERV HQ alone."

"I know! I know…" Asuka grumbled.

"You know, Asuka, I thought you'd be happy to be back in Germany. How many times did you bug me until I would cook you a German breakfast again?"

"Shush Baka," Asuka said with a light blush and a half-hearted glare. "And it's not Germany I have a problem with…well not anymore since you helped me get along with my family again. It's just…you're going back to Japan tomorrow right?"

Shinji nodded in response, "yeah. I'll be leaving for Tokyo-4 tomorrow. With Unit-01 arriving at our new base just north of the city they'll need me close by in case of emergency."

Asuka sighed, "I'm just worried."

"About what? SEELE is almost all hunted down, it's safer than ever to travel for us."

"ALMOST being the key word. The bastards aren't all dead yet."

"I'll be fine Asuka, really," Shinji tried to reassure the usually fiery red head. "I can take care of myself inside and outside the Eva."

"I know," Asuka said defeatedly, as Nephilim she knew that it would take a lot to take either of them down, and it wasn't like they lacked experience fighting outside of the Evas. "It just bothers me that I have to stay here. I know that moving the Evas here for repairs and leaving _it_ in Japan without an Eva around to protect it had been a big risk. I know moving you and 01 back to Japan is the right choice but...damnit we're a team! And Wondergirl can't help you, her Eva is scrap. "

Shinji just smiled at her, Asuka had never been one to sit back and do nothing, now even more so since she has become very protective of him since the 15th Angel. "Well you're coming in a few months right? Once the rebuild and upgrading of Unit-02 is done."

"Yeah," Asuka responded before shaking off her down mood, she was better than this. He knew the dangers as much as she did and he didn't need her being all glum on their last day together for the next few months. "And when I do I'll keep you safe, Baka Shinji! So don't do anything too stupid before the great Asuka Langley Soryu arrives," she told him with a grin.

Shinji just shook his head in amusement, "ja mein Fuhrer."

"Damn straight!" she said with some amusement at his use of German before relaxing again as she remembering something, "hey Shinji."

"Hm?"

"Don't forget to visit my cousin," she reminded him.

"Don't worry, I've already made plans to visit her the day after I arrive."

"And-"

"And I'll remember to handle her paper work for her transfer to that hospital here in Germany," Shinji reassured her.

"Good," Asuka said with a smile.

"Mhm and after that I think I'll try to contact the Sahashi family."

"Pffft I doubt they still remember you, Baka," she teased him.

"Hey!"

"Calm down, I was joking. I'm sure they remember you," she reassured him before giving him a hearty slap on the back, "you're too big of an idiot to forget, Third!"

"I'm not that big of an idiot," Shinji grumbled.

As Asuka lightly laughed at the grumbling and pouting Shinji she hid her nervousness, masking it behind the joy she always got out of teasing her friend and fellow pilot. It always amazed her how when in a fight, either on foot, in the Eva or in a spar he was always so brave but the moment you teased him or put him in a social situation he turned into what seemed like a completely different person.

She was nervous for a number of reasons and while some of it was his safety, she knew that he would probably safe from the remnants of SEELE. No, what she was really nervous about was about the people Shinji wanted to meet in Tokyo-4.

Firstly there were the two non-humans he wanted to meet, the two sekirei. With their much higher security clearance Shinji and Asuka had found out that the women that MBI had sent over to help them during the attack on NERV HQ were in fact aliens. She didn't really care about most of them except for two. The pink haired Benitsubasa and the purple haired Miya.

She didn't have anything against them, oh no, in truth she's very grateful for their actions. All the sekirei contributed to NERV's victory and many personnel were saved by Miya and Benitsubasa themselves as they made their way through NERV HQ to reach the command bridge. Add to the fact that Benitsubasa was the one that helped retrieve Shinji from his hospital room and then proceeded to protect him afterwards and Asuka felt slightly indebted to the girl. Then there's Miya, the purple haired woman who Shinji met more than a decade a ago. The woman who inspired Shinji to be the person he is now, brave and kind just like he promised more than a decade ago.

No, in truth she knew she should be grateful to them and not fear them but she couldn't help it. She knew Benitsubasa was interested in Shinji in a way more than just friendship. Sure the dense Baka missed it which was no surprise, but Asuka didn't miss the way Misato said that the pink haired girl wanted Shinji to meet her in Tokyo-4. And she also knew how much Shinji wanted to meet Miya as well, he still had the dog tags she gave him when they first met. Hell he had a pocket for it added to his plugsuit so he could have it with him when he went into battle, as a good luck charm.

No, against what she knew intellectually Asuka was afraid, even if she wouldn't admit it to anyone but herself. She was afraid the aliens would take him away from her. While _what_ she ultimately felt for the boy is…well she still isn't sure, but she did see him as not just a comrade in arms. No, he was more. He is her best friend, the ONLY person who could understand her. They had fought side by side against the Angels but unlike Rei they, until he leaves for Japan at least, had lived together ever since the battle with the Seventh Angel. They had comfort each other when they had nightmares, they helped each other when one was sick or recovering from injuries. And just as important, Shinji understood what it felt like to lose your mother to Eva.

Yes, Asuka Langley Soryu, the pilot of the mighty Unit-02 feared losing her best friend more than the Angels themselves or whatever monstrosities SEELE created to protect their bases of operation.

But what she feared more than that is that they would not hurt her but that they would hurt him. As strong as they both were in a fight she knew deep inside that they both were somewhat fragile, emotionally. What was different though was the reason for her fragility was being witness to the suicide of her mother at a young age. For Shinji though…she knew that the treatment he received from his uncle's family before coming to Tokyo-3 was a cause. That said she was also sure that another major cause is the much more recent death of Kaoru Nagisa. She knew Shinji loved him, as a friend or something more she didn't care, the effect of Shinji killing him was…devastating nonetheless.

If either of those aliens betrayed him then she would make them REGRET it.

Lastly and most importantly there was the Sahashi family, she didn't hold anything against them, it was the opposite in fact. She knew from what Shinji had told her that they were much better than the family that took care of him before coming to Tokyo-3. That said what she is worried about is do they love him now like Shinji loves them now? It had been more than a decade since he and the Sahashi family had had any real contact. Oh she knew that some Yukari girl had somehow managed to get packages to him discreetly, she and Shinji were the only ones home during times that packages arrived and when they missed it they were the ones that picked it up after school so of course she knew about them. Well, not like Shinji tried to hide it from her.

That said she didn't know how the rest of the family still felt about him. Did that Minato guy still care about him? Time passes and people change, would he still be the shy but kind older brother figure Shinji might need in the future? Then there is the most important member of that family, Takami, the matron of the Sahashi clan. The woman who raised Shinji, the woman he viewed as his mother even to this very day. Asuka knew Shinji loved her dearly, when Misato offered to adopt him he had refused and when they were alone afterwards he had said that he hoped to be adopted by the Sahashi family. He still viewed them as his family even if he only spent a fraction of his short life with them.

So Asuka hoped for their sakes that they still loved him because if she found out they hurt her Shinji?

Oh she'd show them just what her Unit-02 could do.

Nobody messes with Baka Shinji but her.

* * *

 **Tokyo-4 International Airport, Tokyo-4, Japan**

Shinji is pissed...and tired.

Which is saying something, other than those who had seen him fight most had never seen him angry.

The flight from Germany to Japan wasn't bad, it was actually quite pleasant. Thanks to their elevated status in NERV and the more than generous pay that being both a Captain in a highly secretive organization and one of only two Evangelion pilots afforded him meant that buying first class tickets had been really easy. The flight attendants had also been very nice to him, finding the sight of an innocent looking bishounen teen in a cabin full of stuffy rich people to be cute. Even the people he sat with had been…well not good but they had been too busy to bother him by making loud noises. He even enjoyed a few drinks on the plane ride over, when flight attendants questioned his age he just flashed his NERV ID and the drinks helped in keeping…unpleasant thoughts at bay.

No, the plane ride itself had been as good as to be expected. What had upset the usually patient Shinji were the delays. As someone who had nightmares on a regular basis Shinji had sworn off sleeping in public, alone at least because having someone he trusted like Asuka close by tended to keep most of the bad dreams at bay and he didn't want to attract attention with his thrashings and murmurings.

Because of that Shinji had booked his flight on one of the new Concorde II supersonic airliners to cut the trip as short as possible. Of course fate would have it so that multiple lengthy delays meant that it took him more than 24 hours to arrive at Tokyo-4.

24 hours of no sleep.

If that wasn't enough once he had disembarked and was going through immigration he had been pulled into a detainment/interrogation room.

Why?

Because of a prototype security device that resembled a breathalyzer that scans ones DNA by having someone breathe into it. The machine would then search its data banks for a match of known criminals and terrorists. The machine would then beep and flash a colour, green for go, blue for security risk.

When it got to him it flashed _yellow_.

So now he's sitting in a stark white room with nothing but two black folding chairs and a white table which had on top an empty paper cup that once held his coffee as he waited for a technician from the device's maker, MBI.

So he made himself comfortable and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And then, even though he wanted to avoid doing it in public, he fell asleep.

* * *

 **One Hour Prior**

 **MBI Tower, Tokyo-4**

Takami is pissed.

Which isn't really saying something, 'The Wrath of Takami' is a daily appearance at MBI after all. The last time the now white haired scientist had ever been seen smiling at work was in the presence of a brown haired blue eyed little boy many years ago. A boy that most staff who suffered the anger of the single mother of two wished would appear again, if only to have even a moment of reprieve.

She had been busy, very busy. Ever since Takehito died around a year ago she had taken his position as head of the Sekirei Project while still performing her role of head of the Genetics Department AND being the vice-director of MBI. Work had only intensified with the start of the Sekirei Plan. Now she had to oversee the daily dispersal of sekirei in the city, making sure they all had their MBI Cards and making sure their weapons (if they used one) had been maintained and was ready. Then once they've been winged she had to ensure that spare sets of clothing had been sent to the ashikabi's address.

 _'And NOW that idiot Minaka sends me on this damned errand to check on a fuzzy prototype! WHY? Because Minaka, the white cape loving BASTARD, was having TOO much fun with his damn Plan that he forgot he transferred out ALL the people overseeing this project! I-HOW?! HOW CAN YOU BE SO INFURIATING?!_ ' she raged in her mind as her hands started to subconsciously make movements that resembled strangling empty air.

Following closely behind her was Benitsubasa. The pinked haired sekirei Number 105 was dressed in the same mostly black attire she wore when she participated in the defense of NERV HQ. Unlike her ashikabi she had not changed physically, although she now wore a small earing on her left ear. It was a simple piece of jewelry which consisted of a small purple cross made of amethyst hanging on a small fine silver cable chain that she wore in honour of her future ashikabi and his purple mecha.

In all honesty Takami had originally planned to bring along Number 04 Karasuba, the infamous 'Black Sekirei' instead of Benitsubasa. Karasuba's appearance was just more intimidating, plain and simple. In the end though she decided to take Benitsubasa instead, Takami had noticed her becoming antsy and twitchy the past few months and Takami could understand her. After arriving back from Tokyo-3 she had overheard the pinkette talking to Number 08 Yume about the fact that she had encountered her ashikabi at NERV and of course Yume, the 'Sekirei of Love' had been ecstatic which embarrassed the younger sekirei when the noise had gotten a few other's attention.

* * *

Benitsubasa herself is feeling frustrated. It had been a long time since she had seen Shinji and she missed him in the intense way only sekirei could. He was her destined one and yet here she is still waiting to go out to find him. She did tell his superior officer/ guardian that she wanted to meet him again and the pink haired sekirei felt the woman was trust worthy and that she would tell him. That means the reason he hadn't come to Tokyo-4 to look for her is because of his work with NERV and to her that meant he had been fighting. THAT was what frustrated her to no end, she had trained even harder since she met him, she knew his work was important and trying to drag him away from such dangerous work would be useless. She wanted so badly to at least help and protect him outside of his giant robot.

She had seen him get hurt badly and she would do all in her power to never to let that happen again, whether it be an enemy sekirei or an enemy soldier she will crush all who would harm him.

Sadly she isn't scheduled to head out until tomorrow morning so when she was called out to escort Dr. Sahashi to the airport where she may need to help 'interrogate' some poor soul who had gotten on MBI's bad side she had been happy.

It should serve as a useful way to vent her frustrations.

* * *

Takami understood why the sekirei had been so restless.

It had been around one and a half years since the Battle of Tokyo-3 and she hadn't had a chance to contact whoever she met at NERV in all that time. Considering how most sekirei view their ashikabi Takami could understand why the pink haired ex-disciplinary squad member had been…on edge. She had to watch her sisters go out into the city to look for their ashikabi while she who had already met hers had to stay and wait. The problem had almost reached a breaking point when Number 104 Haihane had made fun of her fellow sekirei's small chest. It happened on a usual basis, Haihane very aware of her sister's lack of confidence in her own body, add that to her already present stress and the Disciplinary Squad almost lost another member.

And that could have been a disaster considering Benitsubasa's replacement in the Disciplinary Squad hadn't been fully trained yet.

So Takami decided to bring her along, if anything just to take her out of the stuffy MBI tower. Perhaps seeing more of the outside world would calm her down? If anything she could take her anger out by beating whoever the security scanner tagged into a pulp.

Beating Minaka into a pulp always made her feel a bit better so maybe it would work for the young alien.

Maybe she might even run into her mystery ashikabi in the airport, it could happen right?

 _'Probably not,'_ and with that thought Takami stepped into a black SUV.

* * *

 **Present**

 **Tokyo-4 International Airport**

RUN!

Was all the poor airport staff could think as they got out of the way of two very upset females as they made their way down a corridor in the airport's security building. The anger rolling off the bodies of the scientist and sekirei could be felt by all who encountered them. Guards, security officers and Japanese police officers, some of who were veterans of the riots that broke out after Third Impact, ran like hell if they could.

Those who couldn't run just backed up against the wall, held their breaths, closed their eyes and stayed _reeaaally_ still.

Maybe just maybe if they hoped really hard they wouldn't be noticed.

It seemed to work in Jurassic Park so maybe they wouldn't get killed by the two intimidating females right?

The women just ignored the behavior around them as they approached the door of the room their detainee is held in.

Reaching the door Takami decided to just throw caution to the wind and kicked the door open with so much force that if she kicked any harder the sekirei behind her was sure that the reinforced metal door would have been blasted off its hinges. Either way the sekirei was impressed that the rather slim scientist had managed to press a shoe print into the metal door, she was sure some of the weaker elemental sekirei couldn't even do that much.

Takami on the other hand didn't care as she stormed into the stark white room and the lone person in the room automatically caught her attention.

She was surprised by what she saw though.

He looked a lot younger that she thought he'd be. He looked to be a boy in his mid-teens with stark white hair. The shade of white wasn't the natural shade caused by stress or age either, it looked artificial, as white as clean snow. He was wearing a simple red hoodie, black jeans and grey running shoes. It looked comfortable which wasn't surprising since she was told he had come all the way from Germany, she would dress comfortably as well if she flew across half of the planet.

From what she could see from his posture he was asleep. He was slightly slouched with one leg crossed on top of the other and his arms were crossed across his chest. His head was turned down so the shadow cast by his fringe hid his face and from the movement of his chest she could tell his breathing was relaxed.

That just made her absolutely livid, the little shit who made her waste precious time she could be using for either working or sleeping (a bit of a luxury now) was asleep! The nerve!

"CUT THE CRAP!" Takami snapped as she slammed both hands onto the table which elicited a startled twitch from the white haired teen.

She could feel her anger rising again as the teen, whose face is still hidden by the shadow cast by his fringe, started to yawn and rub his eyelids with his sleeve as he finally returns to the land of the waking.

Then he looked up so she can finally see his face.

And when she saw that face, while it looked different due to age, she knew it.

How could she not?

To her he had always been her youngest child.

"S-Shin-chan?"

"T-Takami-san?"

Her baby.

* * *

Benitsubasa though was frozen as soon as she stepped into the room and saw the sleeping teen in the room.

It was him.

While her eyes told her it wasn't him, his hair just looked way too different.

Her sekirei senses screamed that it was him. She had found him!

And when he finally looked up she couldn't help but start to smile.

* * *

Five minutes late the two humans had finally calmed down from the shock of meeting each other so suddenly and unexpectedly.

Takami, still dressed in her lab coat, had sat herself on the one other chair in the room with her laptop open and placed onto the table in front of her.

Shinji himself was still sitting in the same chair, across from Takami. Unlike before though he was now leaning over the table with his right hand supporting his head so if he fell asleep he wouldn't slam his face onto the table, while his left arm just lazily rested on the table.

Benitsubasa on the other hand had not calmed down, far from it in fact. She was standing and leaning on the wall behind Shinji so he couldn't see the embarrassingly bright blush on her face, a blush she was trying really hard to beat down. While she was winning it was slow progress as she pay attention to the two though, she didn't know Takami and Shinji knew each other and wondered how they had met.

She did not want to miss a chance to know more about him, with him finally in front of her again she did not want to waste time getting to know him better.

For almost two years, for what felt like a slow and painful eternity she missed him. She waited…for this. Now right in front of her he sat and unlike before where he was unconscious, he's perfectly aware now if a bit tired looking. She had dreamed of this moment and she wanted her winging to be …special, romantic. She wanted to confess the feelings she'd had pent up for months on end for the brave and kind boy in front of her. While she enjoyed a good fight and reveled in violence she was a bit of a romantic, something that had become worse since she had become friendly with Yume. So she wanted her winging to be quiet and romantic, like the romance scenes in some of the movies she watched in her spare time.

Waiting for her chance to have her quiet romantic moment wasn't easy though considering that was her logical side's wishes.

Her more…base sekirei instincts wanted to just jump the young man, kiss him silly and wing herself on him. Then once that was done she wanted to tear off their clothes and have him ravage her on the ta-

 _'WOAH! WHERE THE FUCK DID THAT COME FROM?! Down Benitsubasa!'_ she chided to herself, embarrassed where her thoughts started to stray, _'down girl! Down! Deep breath, girl. What would he think if you were to just do that out of the blue! Calm down and breath deep…'_

* * *

With the two humans ignorant of the personal struggle going on within the room's one alien Takami sighed as she eyed her surrogate son.

He had…changed. There was something she saw in his eyes…eye and while she couldn't place what it is she felt slightly unnerved by it. His face was a little more mature but still retained its cuteness while adding a sort of bishounen charm…which worried her slightly.

'Oh boy, when Yukari sees you…' She shivered at the thought, she hoped her daughter wouldn't do anything too stupid, she's old enough to actually go to jail now after all.

What shocked her though was his hair and more than that, his eye patch.

She also noticed how…tired he looked but she decided to keep that to herself, he had a long flight after all.

"So…" Takami said as she eyed his hair, "you died your hair?"

Shinji blinked a few times in surprise, he had actually forgot how abnormal it looked.

"No…" he trailed off as he thought about how to explain. He didn't want to lie to her, especially with what he wanted to ask of her later. That said, he saw the camera in one of the corners behind him and knew he was being recorded. "Stress from work, Takami-san."

"Right," Takami snorted in amusement as she ran her hand through her shoulder length white hair. A part of her wondered if having a full head of white hair at her age was due to her genetic predisposition to it or because of how much Minaka absolutely infuriated her daily, "I think I can understand that."

"Work stress Takami-san?" Shinji said with a wry smile, he still remembered what she thought about her boss.

"Yup," she said before turning a bit more serious as she stared at his eyepatch which made him squirm a bit in his seat. "What happened to your eye Shin-chan? And don't bullshit me."

Shinji just sighed, he knew it would come up. "I…was in a fight."

Takami looked at him in disbelief, "Y-you? In a fight? YOU fought someone? I don't know whether to be disappointed because I thought you would be above school yard brawls or be surprised because you used to be so timid."

"Oh, I still am timid. Just ask my friend back in Germany, she used to get annoyed by it all the time," he said with an obvious hint of amusement.

Takami filed away that little tidbit for later grilling, "So why did you fight?"

"It…someone threatened one of my friends. A bunch of guys ganged up on her, she beat them down but…around half of them somehow managed to get up again like nothing happened. She was too hurt by that time to really fight back. Luckily I came right on time to beat the rest of them down but…well…it wasn't easy," he explained.

Takami looked at him, into his one good blue eye and used the ability all mother's magically possessed.

The ability to know when their own children were lying and she saw nothing, she knew he wasn't telling her everything but she was relieved he still trusted her enough even after so long to not lie to her.

"So I bet your wondering why you're here, right?"

Shinji nodded in response.

"Well," she said turning her attention to her laptop, "you see when in the first phases of that DNA breathalyzer's testing we tested it in house at MBI by testing it on staff. And I'm guessing because of that idiot Minaka's…excitement over a certain project he rushed the development. When it entered the public testing phase the project team forgot to delete MBI staff data. Data that also included family members of MBI staff and since you were once my ward…well I think you can put two and two together."

* * *

"Oh I see," Shinji said with a sigh, "just my luck."

*ring* *ring* *ring*

"Oh what now," Takami moaned as she took out her phone and looked at who the caller is, "sorry Shin-chan I need to take this."

As Shinji just watched her storm out of the room he couldn't help but smile at her natural use of his old childhood nickname. It reminded NERV's Third Child of simpler times.

In a way he missed those times, of living with the Sahashi family. Every day was warm and people who loved him surrounded him. Life just consisted of going to school and playing with Yukari-nee. There was no life or death battles, the human race's future didn't rest on his shoulders and he never had to worry about nightmares that would probably render most people insane.

Even thinking that though he couldn't regret the life he'd lived. Oh sure there are plenty of times he wished his life turned out different but if he never joined NERV then he would never have met so many people he now holds dear.

He would never had met Misato, his superior officer and guardian. Living with the energetic woman had often been a bright spot during dark times.

He would never have Toji, Hikari and Kensuke. His first three friends at Tokyo-3 had proved essential in giving him a sense of…belonging when he first moved into the city. Sure after the incident with Unit-03 he had never seen or spoken to Hikari and Toji ever again but he couldn't blame them for being angry at him. No, he never ever regretted meeting them. As for Kensuke he still had regular contact with him, he had joined NERV after the Battle of Tokyo-3. Actually with Kensuke now working as one of the technicians that maintained his Unit-01 he knew he would see his military otaku friend soon enough.

But most importantly he would never have met Rei and Asuka.

Rei, his weird, stoic, and strange half-sister. The girl had defended him against the angels as they fought side by side in the months before Unit-02's arrival and he had quickly grown protective of her and her of him. If there was one person he could always count on to listen to him, the one person who would always be on his side, it was her.

And of course Asuka, the fiery red head of NERV. In all honesty Shinji was sure he had never ever met anyone so full of life as the pilot of Unit-02. She was fire incarnate, letting what she felt and what she thought be known to the world without holding back. She was his rival, they used each other to motivate and better each other. Sure, the first few months of their relationship had been rough but with time they had bonded. They had comforted each other when their dreams haunted them, they took care of each other when they were sick or wounded and when they became Nephilim they supported each other when many called them monsters.

He just couldn't imagine not having those two girls, polar opposites of each other, in his life.

Speaking of people he would never have met he could hear one of them walking up to him now.

* * *

Benitsubasa noticed the doctor leaving the room and decided that she couldn't wait anymore. She took a deep breath and gathered her courage, _'Let's go Benitsubasa. Now or never,'_ and walked towards the room's other occupant.

"Hello Benitsubasa-san," Shinji greeted her with a smile, "thank you for saving me at NERV."

"Y-you're welcome," She responded with a bit of a blush on her face.

"Are you ok? You look ill," Shinji asked when he noticed the slight blush on the girl's face and her heavy breathing.

"I'm fine. Ikari-kun."

"Please call me Shinji. You saved my life, no need to be formal," Shinji said.

"R-right…S-Shinji-sama and you d-don't need to add the 'san.' Just Benitsubasa is fine," Benitsubasa stuttered, she knew what being on a first name basis meant to people in Japan and it sent her heart a flutter referring to him in such an intimate manner.

But she also remembered that she had some things to tell him, she ignored the fear of rejection that started to swell in her and put on as serious a face as she could manage with him being so close to her. "I…I need to tell you something."

"Yes?"

Taking one final deep breath before speaking, "I…I'm not human. I'm an alien, a sekirei."… _'There I said it,'_ she thought with her eyes closed, waiting for his response, fearing what it may be.

"Oh, I already knew that."

'What?'

"What?" She muttered… _'well that was…anti-climactic.'_

Ah, sometimes the mind and body truly are in synch.

* * *

Shinji closed his eyes and concentrated. He trusted Benitsubasa, he didn't know why but he somehow knew without a shadow of a doubt that he could trust the girl in front of him just like how he trusted Asuka and Rei and Miya, even though he hadn't seen the latter in more than a decade. Which was saying something, he trusted those three more than pretty much anyone else on earth. He didn't know why either but something inside him knew that the pink haired alien would never betray him.

That said he didn't want whoever is monitoring the security camera and microphone to hear what is obviously going to be a conversation full of secrets. While he had no doubt MBI would delete all records of what she just said and probably pay off anyone who had seen and heard it with hush money he didn't want to take any chances. The girl in front of him obviously trusted him as well so he decided to do something for her sake.

NERV's Third child extended his AT Field outwards so it surrounded them. As a Nephilim he and Asuka couldn't project something anywhere near the massive scale of the AT Fields that Evangelions and Angels produced but it was enough for certain tasks. Like blocking out the sound of their voices reaching the microphone he had no doubt were hidden in the walls, ensuring their privacy. Also since the Field is so weak he had no worry of it being seen by the camera, it would only seem like an audio glitch to anyone observing.

* * *

Benitsubasa felt something envelope her. She wasn't afraid though, while she was curious about what it was, her sekirei senses told her that Shinji was behind it. No, instead of being on edge she felt…safe somehow.

"What was that?" she asked him.

Shinji opened his eyes and motioned her to take a seat so she took the other chair and placed it in front of him and sat down. "Something to make sure no one will hear us talking."

Benitsubasa nodded but made a note to ask him again after she was done, "so how did you know I'm a sekirei?"

"Well since we met last I've received the rank of Captain and received increased security clearance. MBI sent NERV a message before you and the other sekirei arrived at NERV HQ telling us you're aliens and Asuka, the other pilot, and I read it when we were going over details of the battle."

"Oh, well that makes this a bit easier for me. You are m-my ashikabi," she said quickly as her blush deepened.

"What's an ashikabi? All I know is what the sekirei are," Shinji said as he noted her deepening face with some worry, he also noted her breathing has deepened even more.

"Oh," Benitsubasa swallowed. She hoped that Shinji had found out more about the sekirei from MBI's message, such as an explanation what ashikabi were but apparently her luck wasn't good enough. "An ashikabi is a sekirei's destined p-partner. Our m-m-mate…*ahem* we sekirei wing ourselves on our ashikabi and well…" she trailed off as she looked away in a failed attempt to hide her embarrassment, "we'll be with them. Forever and ever."

"Oh…OH," Shinji's eyes widened and he suddenly felt very awake as his heart started to race at the girl's confession. Then he remembered something, "Um…Benitsubasa-san, h-how are so sure? I mean this is only our second meeting and well…we didn't really talk much last time."

She swallowed again in nervousness, her fears of him rejecting her grew stronger at his last statement but she ignored it, it was a good question after all. "Well…I don't really know the specific but we sekirei are partly psychic and we react to our ashikabi. Our h-hearts race when we see them, when we're close to them. E-even now I feel it."

"Um…well I…think I already have a sekirei, I think."

Benitsubasa's brows scrunched in confusion, "how? When did you meet another sekirei?"

"Um it was…when I was five."

 _'Ten years ago then?'_ she thought to herself, _'That would mean only Numbers 01 through 05 would be out at the time…this could be could be good. More protection for him.'_ She looked at him with a serious face, the small feeling of jealousy at the thought that she wouldn't be his first sekirei were squashed with the thought of a powerful ally. Of course she wanted him all to herself but she wanted him safe more than anything in the world. "Who is it?"

Shinji blushed as he remembered the vivid memory of a kiss and wings of light, "N-number? I-I don't remember anything about a number but her name is Miya."

Benitsubasa blinked once. Twice. Three times before she shot up to her feet, "WHAT?!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Shinji squeeked, "I don't know what I did but please don't be angry!"

"No!" She said while waving her hands frantically. _'Nice going Benitsubasa, you freaked him out,'_ she chided herself while repressing the urge to face palm as her short temper and tendency to overreact showed themselves, much to her chagrin. "I'm not mad just…surprised. You see the single digit sekirei are the most powerful of our kind. And I-uh…kind of idolized Miya-sama's strength."

"Oh," Shinji sighed in relief as she sat down.

Benitsubasa took a quick second to calm herself down and gave him a reassuring smile to relieve him and calm him down. She could tell the stress of his long trip is finally getting to him. "And an ashikabi can have multiple sekirei, Shinji-sama. Actually a few ashikabi in Tokyo-4 already have several sekirei."

"B-but are you really ok with that?"

"I am," Benitsubasa said with conviction. She wouldn't deny herself what would make her happy because she felt greedy. _'Besides, should I be surprised? He's cute, he's brave and he fought off giant monsters in a giant robot like a badass,'_ she thought wryly.

"Benitsubasa…before we do anything you need to know about me. I want you to make an informed choice. Everything I'm about to say is to be considered classified. Do you really want to continue?"

Benitsubasa nodded in response and leaned forward to show her interest. Actually she felt a little insulted, she had thought a lot about what being with a child soldier would mean and in truth she didn't care. No, she did care but instead of being put off it just fueled her to better herself.

To be stronger, to be faster, all for him.

But in the end she was sekirei and he was human. Even though sekirei are really similar to humans...well…she and her kind still thought a bit different. She isn't naïve enough to believe that 'love' rules all, yes she's a romantic, but she still considers herself a realist. Unlike Yume and some other sekirei, she knew of the…realities of being with humans. Love, sadly, isn't always the answer to humans. So while she was a bit insulted and hurt, it was over shadowed by the feeling of admiration for the teen-no young man in front of her grew even more. He wanted her to have all the information before she made her choice, something that most humans would appreciate. Even though her decision was made the moment she realized she was reacting to him she still appreciated it, he's only trying to be considerate the way he knows how.

"Well…first things first, it goes without saying, I'm still a member of NERV and the UN Military and like I said before I have the rank of Captain. Are you sure you want to be with me? Do you still want to be with me even though I get sent to combat? I…don't want to drag you into a war."

"I know," she shook her head and looked him in the eye, "I've been training even harder so I can protect you , Shinji-sama. I know what I'm getting into and as l-long as I'm w-with you then…I'm happy."

He smiled a small smile but he seemed to have remembered something as his face darkened.

"…" muttered with his head turned down, the shadow of his fringe covering his face again.

Benitsubasa raised a brow and moved a little closer, "um…can you say that again?"

* * *

"Even though I'm not really human anymore?" Shinji quietly asked as he internally tried to steel himself as a part of him berated him for telling her asking her that but just tiredly blamed on lack of sleep and alcohol.

Ever since he and Asuka had…changed they had noticed a shift among many of the NERV staff.

They were suspicious and wary of them at best and scared of them at worst.

Contrary to popular belief Shinji had always been aware of what people called him behind his back. His constant training in swordsmanship ever since he was little, ever since he had met Miya had meant he always had a good understanding of his surroundings. It was a habit that he slipped into easily, knowing the terrain and how to use it for your advantage was one of his earliest lessons in learning kenjutsu.

That meant he had heard the things that some of the things they would say behind his back when they thought he was out of earshot or just not paying attention.

Some people pitied him. Seeing him pushed into a position he didn't want to be in and being treated like a tool by his father, a person almost no one in NERV liked. He was actually slightly annoyed by them. Sure he didn't ask to pilot Eva but he wouldn't stand around and do nothing while humanity died. No, Takami had raised him to be a better man than that. Miya had inspired him to be better than that. Asuka pushed him to be better than that.

Some people genuinely cared about him. That was highly appreciated, especially when he first arrived at Tokyo-3. His uncle and his family, who Shinji had been living with since he left the Sahashi family, had been anything but caring in the years they had spent together. So waking up in the hospital room after his first angel battle and battle to the sight of a Misato who had been genuinely relieved he was ok was…it was something he sorely needed at that point in his life. During the course of the war he had also gotten close to the NERV personnel who he had regular contact with, specifically the bridge bunnies, the nurses and doctors at the medical wing and the crew who worked at the Eva cages.

That said, he was sure most people at NERV didn't really care about him. Oh sure they would care if he died, as one of the handful of Evangelion pilots his death would be a majour blow to the war effort but other than that? Most people didn't really seem to care. Most people who he passed at NERV's hallways or at the cafeteria didn't even give him a glance.

Now though?

Now the previously neutral majority feared him. Walking down the walkways it was hard to miss the…looks that people sent his and Asuka's way when they walked down the hall. The sheer mistrust in their eyes…well it hurt. He had spent several hundred hours training at NERV during the Angel War alone and that wasn't counting the time he spent privately practicing with his sword by himself or with Asuka and Rei. He had bled and cried for them and he couldn't help but feel angry, betrayed and just hurt. He could understand it in a way, Kaoru frightened a lot of people, an Angel that appeared human? Stuff of nightmares, that he understood but didn't fighting for them count for anything? Didn't him continuing to fight for them count for anything?

"What?"

"I'm…what NERV calls a Nephilim," he before nervously swallowing. "We don't really know what the cause is exactly but…well remember the Evas? What do you think they are Benitsubasa? Just machines?"

She scrunched her brows, wondering where he was going but nodded anyway.

Shinji looked down, too afraid to see her reaction, he just felt so tired. "Well…they're not. the Evangelions are…how do I explain this quickly…artificial lifeforms. We pilots…connect to them, mind, body and soul. The better our connection the better we move, the better we fight. But…the better we connect, the…line, the barrier between Eva and pilot blurs. And well," he explained as he finally looked up and ran his hand through his hair, "this isn't natural. Even knowing that, do you still want to be with me?"

Shinji froze as he felt to slender but strong arms slowly and with great care wrapped around him. As the pink haired alien pulled him into an embrace he couldn't help but feel how…right it felt.

"Shhh. You're not a monster, Shinji-sama," she softly assured him as she pulled him into an embrace.

When she watched him explain to her what he'd become and what he had been changed into she saw…bitterness in his eye, in his voice and on his face. Sadness, bitterness, hurt and…longing were all present in equal amount and it hurt her.

Another thing she couldn't protect him from.

She felt helpless. As he spoke and his gaze turned distant and unfocused, as if he was reliving painful memories as he spoke she felt powerless, she could dodge bullets and smash soldiers but her strength were nothing to the memories that pained him.

So she did the only thing she could and just hugged him and told him it was ok, that he wasn't a monster. She couldn't think of anything else, he just looked so…broken, so defeated. It was a such a change from the kind, brave if shy young man that she first met, that she saw again at the airport a dozen minutes ago. It made her wonder, what else did she not know about him?

But that was something for later, something she hoped would be fixed as she became closer with him over time.

Now she had to stay in the moment

At first she feared he would throw her off or complain or scream or something when he stiffened at the contact but was relieved when he softened and relaxed and was pleasantly surprised when he slowly returned it with an embrace of his own.

"T-thank you…really," he said and she was happy to hear how much happier, how more relived and energetic he sounded.

It suited him much more she decided.

"You are not a monster," she softly whispered as she nuzzled into his shoulder absent mindedly noting how warm he was. Gods this felt so…so right to her. "You are Shinji Ikari, pilot of a cool but kind of scary giant mecha. You are not a monster, you slay monsters Shinji-sama. You are a hero. Besides, you saved my life remember? So no matter what anyone says…"

She loosened her grip to face him. "You are my hero," she said as she put her forehead up against his own and she could feel her face blush just like his own. She felt hot, her heart hammered in her chest and her breathing had become something akin to panting.

Gods how long had she dreamed of this moment? To hold her ashikabi and to have him hold her in return. To be so close that she could feel his breathe tickle her skin. To stare into his beautiful deep blue eyes, granted he only had one now but it made no difference to her, she still feel like she could lose herself in that beautiful shade of blue.

She couldn't wait anymore...so she kissed him. It was a chaste kiss, awkward and nothing like she imagined it would be but for life of her couldn't find a single thing wrong with it.

* * *

Perfect

That single word encompassed that moment in Shinji's mind. So enraptured in the moment was he that he completely forgot about his AT Field which had collapsed back to normal Lilim levels without his active concentration.

At first the embrace shocked him but then before he knew it he was returning the embrace. That actually surprised him a bit. While not a taboo, public shows of affection are not that common in Japanese society and this being an airport with a camera watching it definitely wasn't a private setting. Even then Shinji himself had always been on the shy side, something he wondered if he picked up from Minato-nii.

He can only really remember hugging six people in his entire life. Takami and Yukari when he stilled lived with their family. Then there was Miya…actually he wasn't sure if he hugged her all those years ago, it was just so long ago but he wouldn't be surprised if he did. He hugged Misato when he tried to comfort her when Kaji died. In the aftermath of the battle with the Fifth Angel, when he had managed to pry Rei's entry plug open and saw she was okay; he had gotten swept up in the moment and hugged her. Then there was Asuka, the only person who he had such intimate contact with on a regular basis as he would embrace her during her regular nightmares and of course she would do the same for him, reassuring each other that everything is ok.

All those people he had spent a lot of time with though before he got to the point where he would be comfortable with the contact.

Well except Miya.

Was this a sekirei thing he wondered? Benitsubasa said they were psychic or at least partly. Were they affecting him too then? Or was there something in him that was also reacting to her? On an albeit much lesser level.

Having his mind influenced should have frightened him but…

But…

It just felt…so…so…so right! This girl in front of him, the cute and beautiful girl in front of him…he felt…he knew he could trust her, that she would never hurt him, never betray him. How did he know?

How could he know?

Why didn't he care?

Right now, in this moment, the only thing that mattered to him was the girl in his arms and the kiss.

The awkward kiss of two people new to romance sent a…feeling through him. A feeling of warmth, of trust, of love coursed through his being and he felt alive and more complete.

Amazing.

Then it ended.

As they separated they both slowly opened their eyes and Shinji could see the cute blush on her cheeks and from what he felt he knew he was blushing deeply too.

"Wow," he breathed out as he saw the pink ethereal wings of light behind his sekirei's back linger for a few moments before slowly fading.

When he would look back at this moment the next day he would ask himself what was he thinking? And when did he get so bold?

Was it because he of lack of sleep impairing his thinking?

Was it the alcohol loosening his inhibitions?

Or was it the feeling of longing and happiness he could now feel through his bond with his new sekirei.

In a rare moment of spontaneity Shinji gently cupped Benitsubasa's face with one hand, eliciting a startled squeak as she was snapped out of her post winging stupor and kissed her again.

This one was different though than the last. The last one was shy and chaste and awkward, the kiss of young lovers. This one was not chaste but full of passion. It was awkward at first but Shinji absently noted that through their bond he could feel when he did something she liked and very quickly it wasn't awkward anymore.

Not exactly how he pictured his return to Japan would be like but…all in all it wasn't so bad.

All of a sudden Shinji found that he was now very glad he didn't follow the Commander's suggestion.

* * *

"Ingrates, all of them," Takami muttered as she hanged up and pocketed her phone.

'Well, time to go back,' she grumbled internally. The call had been from one of the staff managing the observation centre where they track the winging of the released sekirei. Apparently there had been a software malfunction which was…odd, MBI had been working and polishing the tracking programs for years.

Well nothing she could do about it and really she only needed to go back because she's the one in charge of the sekirei. Computers weren't her specialty but it's safer to have her present just in case anyway. If a sekirei were to beterminated, as unlikely as that was with the small number of sekirei released, their response would be delayed because of the software bug. That meant that, as the leading expert on their biology and anatomy, Takami would need to go with the recovery team in case of the downed sekirei's condition worsening due to a late response.

Still she couldn't help but sigh to herself, seeing Shinji all grown up…it reminded her just how much she missed him. She knew almost nothing about the last ten or so years of his life, last time she saw him he wasn't anywhere even close to being up to her hip. He had been so tiny and adorable back then and now…well now she could see he had become a man.

All those years, all that time lost. She remembered what Miya had told her when she brought Shinji to the old tower at Tokyo-2 all those years ago, about how she didn't trust his father.

Should she had let him go without bringing it to the courts? He had been practically abandoned by his father, even considering the death of Yui, in hindsight, it was extreme. What had his uncle's family been like?

What happened to him between then and now? The only person she could turn to for information about him was, scarily enough, Yukari who had managed to keep in touch with him somehow. She had told her how he became the national middle school kendo champion when he entered middle school and defended it every single year. She had also heard that he had been moved to Tokyo-3 for some reason which worried her at the time when the Angels started to come. So of course she was relieved when Yukari had told her that Shinji had survived the JSSDF's attack on the city, and that he had moved with a friend to Germany early in 2016.

That did make her wonder what is he doing visiting Tokyo-4? From the briefing she received at MBI he had a fair amount of luggage so it was obvious he would be staying for an extended period.

At first she guessed that the friend he had been living had a fight or some sort of disagreement with Shinji, he could be surprisingly stubborn when he was a kid, it was how he had met Miya after all. Wouldn't surprise her that when pushed comes to shove he could still be surprisingly hard headed.

Then he mentioned how his friend in Germany, the same one he lived with she correctly guessed, had sometimes found him annoying. She saw the fond look he had on his face when he said that so she knew they were still close.

But most troubling for her was that said friend was a she.

Contrary to popular belief, Takami treasured her children, she loved them with every fiber of her being. She is a mother first and a scientist second.

Even if he had left her small family a long time ago she had always seen him as her youngest, her baby.

Did he have a girlfriend? A part of her would be surprised if that were to be the case. He had always been so shy and as the youngest amongst Minato, Yukari and Shinij he was the youngest so she just assumed her two older children would start dating first….Actually with him here now she knew she had to let him know about Miya. The poor sekirei had gone more than a decade devoid of contact with the person she had reacted to, must have been hard. 'I wonder how he'd deal with mating with an alien?' mused.

A part of her wasn't so surprised if he did have a girlfriend. Assuming he hadn't changed much and from what she could tell his personality hadn't really changed then he would be a kind, responsible, and smart boy other than his shyness what wasn't to like about that? And he was good looking so she wouldn't be surprised if people found him attractive. Also Minato, her eldest, was…well a wimp and lacked a shred of confidence. And while yes he wasn't bad looking either, he is her son after all and his intellect is easily genius level she just couldn't imagine him gathering up the courage to ask out a girl. Then there's Yukari…well it would take a special kind of person to have enough patience to deal with the hyperactive girl.

A part of her was very worried that Shinji, someone who she had always loved to pamper, was and from what she could tell is still such a person.

That aside if Shinji did have a girlfriend then…well she would need to see if the girl is someone that she would approve of.

Sekirei were one thing, most were honest and sincere, almost to a fault, in their love and devotion to their ashikabi. Since Miya reacted to him she was doubly sure that she wouldn't hurt him, she saw how sincere Number 01's love was for Shinji when he was little.

Humans? Humans though are another matter.

She sighed again to herself, she wanted to catch up with him more but she really should head back. She looked at her watch and sighed again, yup she should really cut their reunion short. He had been obviously tired and with how late it had become she wanted him to just go off and get some rest. She could talk with him more later.

Hopefully he's free tomorrow, she had managed to secure a rare off day tomorrow and she had no plan other than check in on Minato's studying for his university entrance exam but she already planned to just call him, not visit. So she had plenty of time to burn.

Plan made she turned around and opened the door.

...

To see the sekirei she had brought along making out with her surrogate son. She did not need to see the pink wings of light coming out of the sekirei's back to know what that meant.

Well at least now she knows he has a girlfriend

Still…

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TWO DOING?!" she screamed in frustration.

Damnit, she tried to keep her kids out of the craziness of the Sekirei Plan and as soon as he arrives in Tokyo-4 he gets a sekirei winged. While she already knew he would probably end up winging Miya, that was no problem since the purple haired sekirei had agreed to stay a neutral party and should be able to keep him safe. But now…there goes that plan.

She took a deep breath as the two love birds separated, blushing furiously in embarrassment. She had no time for this, to explain the plan and the sekirei right now and she knew Shinji really should go off and get some sleep. Still she wanted to be the one to explain the plan to him and not Minaka, she never imagined she would thank her luck that MBI's tracking systems have glitched out but with them down she doesn't have to worry about Minaka rambling off at Shinji. Once she got back she'd just tell Minaka that she'd explain the Plan to him, if the idiot didn't agree then…well she'd just present her argument more forcefully.

* * *

"T-T-T-Takami-san!" Shinji squeaked as Benitsubasa started to sputter incoherently.

He could feel his cheeks burning with embarrassment at both what he had just done and at being caught red handed. While he didn't exactly regret winging Benitsubasa, far from it, he did wonder well the hell his courage came from.

He had the distinct feeling that the rest of the evening will be awkward between him and his new sekirei.

If he could stay awake long enough that is, with his hormones starting to calm down all he wanted to do is collapse somewhere soft…perhaps on his new sekirei's la-nope, hormones still around.

Takami let out a deep tired breath and looked Benitsuabasa in the eye with a glare that Shinji was sure could have pierced one of the weaker Angel's AT Field. "Benitsubasa I hope you at least explained what the sekirei are first? I hope you didn't just jump him."

"I-I explained properly!" Benitsubasa quickly exclaimed in fear and Shinji couldn't blame her, Takami really could be scary when she was mad.

"Good," Takami nodded before she turned to him, "Shinji are you free tomorrow? I'm sure you'd like an explanation and I'd like to catch up a bit if you don't mind."

"I'd love too," Shinji replied with a genuine smile, "I have someone I want to visit in the early evening but I can meet you for lunch?"

"Of course, do you have a place in mind?"

Shinji thought for a moment before he remembered the perfect place, a place Misato had told him about before he left for Japan so he wrote the name of the restaurant and the address down on a piece of paper and handed the note to Takami. "See you there at 12?"

"That should be no problem," she said as she pocketed the note. Then she seemed to have remembered something and turned to Benitsubasa, "I'm guessing you want to go back with him?"

Benitsubasa replied with a shy and quiet, "yes."

"Is that ok with you Shin-chan?"

"N-no problem," Shinji replied with a bit of a blush, he kept quiet about the fact that having someone stay with him made him really happy. He had gotten so used to living with other people, Misato and Asuka in Japan and Asuka and her family in Germany, he wasn't really used to waking up alone anymore. "The hotel I have a room at isn't that far."

"Alright, come on. I'll give you two a lift, you look like you're going to pass out any minute now," she offered them to which Shinji nodded, she wasn't wrong either, his eyelids felt really heavy.

* * *

 **Continental Tower Hotel, Southern Sector, Tokyo-4**

 **20th Floor**

Benitsubasa had her left arm wrapped around her ashikabi's waist while he had his right arm thrown over her shoulder, with him being still half asleep she wasn't sure if he could even walk to the bed by himself. Takami had not been kidding, Shinji had fallen asleep as soon as they both sat in the back of the SUV, with how tired he was looking when they went to retrieve their luggage beforehand she was surprised he stayed up long enough to get to the car.

And while she would have liked to have talked to him during the ride she didn't mind letting him sleep, she was happy enough holding his hand as he slept. The most important thing though is she had finally been winged by him, an event she waited almost two years for and if she had to wait a night to talk to him more then she could wait that much.

Tightening her grip around her ashikabi's waist a little bit she fished her key card for their room, room number 2007, and opened the door.

"I can walk," she heard Shinji murmur and she gingerly let go off him and made sure to watch him carefully to make sure his walking was stable before bringing his luggage inside and closing the door.

Looking around the room she was impressed by the size of the suite. The room had a small kitchen space, a large wall mounted television, a lounge area and a large comfortable looking king sized bed.

That made her blush, one bed but she shook her head clean of…certain thoughts.

"I'm going to shower Shinji-sama," she told him to which he nodded as he went through the clothes he had packed. While she had to admit she too was getting tired, the excitement of meeting her ashikabi finally wearing off, she didn't want to get into the same bed as him without cleaning up. She had been working out her stress at the gym before Takami invited her to the airport.

"Benitsubasa," he called out to her, "here."

She turned and saw that he had placed a change of clothes for her, a simple grey shirt and black shorts.

"T-thank you," she replied.

"Your welcome," he responded with a smile before Benitsubasa went and quickly headed off to the shower, blushing all the while.

The bathroom, she noted, lived up to the high standard of the rest of the suite. Clean white towels, more than enough space and a large shower stall and bathtub.

She quickly but thoroughly washed and cleaned herself, paying special attention to her hair before changing into the clothes her ashikabi had provided, she made a note to remind herself to head to the Tower the next day to pick up her belongings.

As she finished changing she couldn't help taking a moment to take in that she was wearing her ashikabi's clothes and that they smelled…well like her Shinji-sama.

As she exited the bathroom she smiled as she noticed her ashikabi sleeping in the bed. As she walked up to him, carefully as to not make noise, she heard him murmuring something. Not sure anymore if he was awake or not because he was turned away from her, she walked to the other side of the bed and saw he was asleep. Raising a brow in curiosity she leaned over to listen…

"No…no…stop…I…no…don't," she heard him say. She also noticed a bit of a frown on his face. Closing her eyes and focusing on their bond she felt…fear. He was having a nightmare she realized but unlike before when he was remembering something painful at the airport she knew she could do something this time, more than just physical contact. Something she hoped would work.

So she walked over to the empty side of the bed, lifted the sheets before carefully climbing in and covering them both again. She very gently rolled him over and took him into an embrace again.

"Shhh. It's okay Shinji-sama, your sekirei is right here. I won't leave you remember?" she whispered in his ear. At the same time she remembered their first meeting and how he had saved her, how he was worried for her even though he was hurt. Using the happiness that those treasured memories had always brought her she tried to send those soothing emotions through their bond. She had heard from her older sisters that the bond worked both ways. She wasn't sure if it worked, amongst her kind her psychic abilities were on the weaker end but she knew it worked when she felt him calm down. He stopped murmuring and snuggled up to her.

She smiled as she closed her eyes, happy to have finally done something for him and happy at his reaction.

She knew that their relationship still had much room to grow, their actions after her winging she knew were mostly due to the heat of the moment. She knew that her dream of a fairy tale like romance was still in the future but she didn't care.

She knew she would enjoy learning about him, getting closer to him.

Small sweet moments like these were more than enough for her.

As she started to fall asleep the last thing she heard was a warm quiet voice that made her hear sing and it said…

"Thank you."

With that she drifted into the most comfortable night of sleep she had ever had in her entire life.

 **NEXT ON AN ANGEL AND HIS WAGTAILS - CHAPTER 3: We Don't Like Hospitals**


	4. Bonus: Shinji's First Christmas

**Bonus Chapter: Shinji's First Christmas**

 **Dec. 20, 2016**

 **St. Pauli Quarter, Hamburg, Germany**

Asuka Langley Soryu, brave pilot of the Production Series Evangelion: Unit-02, Captain of NERV, daughter of Kyoko Zeplin Soryu, Spitfire of NERV and current housemate of Shinji Ikari _very_ quietly entered her shared apartment. It's currently 11pm at night and considering her housemate had just spent almost the entirety of the past two days at NERV suffering through the gauntlet of tests with Doktor Diederich she tried her hardest to imitate a ninja as she entered. Honestly she didn't have a problem with NERV-03's version of Doctor Akagi, he didn't help plan for Third Impact after all but did he _really_ need to do that many tests? In just two days?

She knew how important it is to get accurate readings from Shinji considering his Unit-01 will be going through a rebuild/retrofit soon but still, wasn't that a bit too much?

She still remembered the tired look Shinji had on him when she picked him up from the base earlier in the day, the only time she had ever seen him look so tired during their civilian life had been after he visited his mother's grave last year. Normally she would make him drive but even she couldn't help but sympathize as he collapsed into unconsciousness in the passenger seat beside her as she drove home, thanking that NERV had enough pull to get them licenses early.

The last thing Shinji needed was being driven home in a stuffy Section 2 SUV.

So with _great_ care, using the inherent superior fine muscle control her biological sex possesses which had been further honed by training to pilot Eva she closed the door quietly. She _hated_ being disturbed when she was tired and/or irritable and considering Shinji is nothing but a darling when she's on her period she decided she could grace him with her generosity and kindness when he just wants nothing more than sleep. Hell, she didn't even make him cook tonight! She had to suffer eating take-out after he had the _gall to_ spoil her taste buds with his cooking.

' _I really am too nice sometimes,'_ Asuka decided as the door closed with a quiet *click*.

"I'm home," she announced with a whisper in Japanese as she took off her shoes.

The reply is of course silence, but she didn't mind as she walked into the apartment. She noticed the lights are left on and she cursed internally, that was her fault, she must have forgotten to turn it off when she left in a hurry. She sighed and shrugged it off, her and Shinji are swimming in more money than they know what to do with so they can afford wasted electricity. When she had brought Shinji home he had basically stripped right in front of her, too tired to remember her being in the room and collapsed on his bed.

That had made her red faced for a good twenty-minutes, still she saved the memory.

…involuntarily of course.

She shook her head, clearing her head of…things, she threw her hand bag across the hallway, into the living room, plopping it onto the love seat. She took a look around her and Shinji's apartment, looking for signs if he had gotten up at all. He had looked really rough and honestly she was a bit worried about leaving him alone so when she went out she had asked (read: threatened) their neighbors, AKA a part of their Section 2 security detail, if they could check on him from time to time, or else.

Their apartment itself is quite large, twice as big as Misato's place, her and Shinji's combined income making a large apartment in the middle of the urban heart of Hamburg easy to afford.

She took off her coat and couldn't help but smile at the long red trench coat, a gift from her idiotic but lovable roommate. A part of her had been touched at the gift, for it was of _very_ high quality while another part of her is happy that the world is now making a recovery so she could actually where something so warm.

Back when she left Germany in 2015 to go to Tokyo-3 she had _never_ experienced weather that could really be called winter. Oh it had been cold during the old winter months but all it took to be warm was a sweater. In less than a year it had become legitimately cold again, it even reached negative five degrees Celsius today!

Idly she wondered if that was some reward for the human race defeating the Angels.

' _I wonder if Papa or Mother knows how to skate?'_ she wondered, referring to her birth father and step-mother, while she had accepted the woman thanks to Shinji but she does make sure to differentiate her birth mother as Mama and her step-mom as either Mom or Mother. As Asuka took off her black turtle neck sweater and hanged it up on the coat rack, she tilted her head and thought, _'shame with the war going we can't leave the city and go skiing when it finally starts to snow again…whenever that will be. At least now it's starting to get cold enough for water to freeze outside.'_

She walked into the apartment, turning off lights as she went and walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of milk and looked outside her apartment window and smiled at the sight of the street below. Lights were strung in between the trees that lined the streets and all kinds of decorations were hung on people's balconies and windows.

Asuka took a deep breath, savoring the feeling of peace. _This_ is one of the reasons she fought now, as irregular as the fighting had gotten as time passed and SEELE weakened had gotten, this sense of everyday peace. Her smile took a prideful quality as she thought how that the only reason the world still worked the way it does, the reason people can still scurry around rushing to finish their Christmas and holiday shopping is because _she_ and her fellow pilots had fought. Because she had lived this is all possible.

She really is great and amazing, why did she ever doubt herself before?

Her eyes lit up as she remembered that Alster, a part of the Elbe river that flowed through the city used to freeze up in the years before Second Impact, maybe it will freeze over this year?

' _It is cold enough to freeze now...'_ she thought to herself before she smirked as an idea came to her. She'd ask her Papa and Mother if they knew how to skate and ask to teach her in secret at one of the indoor skating rinks. _Then_ once she had mastered the skill, which of course wouldn't take too long, she'd graciously teach it to Shinji. She put down her now empty glass and turned off the light in the kitchen, yes that should be a fun way to spend time with the Baka.

Besides Minna Ludwig, Doktor Diederich's nephew and a nurse at NERV-03 had been getting a _little_ too close to her Baka for her liking and she didn't want him getting so close to someone…since he'll be heading back to Japan in a few months. She didn't want him hurting from separating from someone, she already knew he'd be missing herself and that was enough suffering for the Third Child as far as Asuka is concerned.

* * *

Asuka, now changed into a long sleeved shirt a few sizes too big for her and a pair of pajamas, not her sexiest sleepwear but it is quite cold in shorts even with heating. Currently she's standing outside of Shinji's room and she quietly opened the do-

*creeeeek*

"Scheiße," Asuka cursed, "damnit Shinji I thought I told you to fix that hinge."

"A…Asu..ka?" Shinji murmured groggily, not really awake.

Asuka froze, she had _not_ meant to say that out loud, especially with the day her best friend had had.

Oops.

"Is…is something…wrong?" she heard Shinji murmur, obviously not wholly there. Still, Asuka held back a sigh, would it kill the idiot to worry about himself for once? As someone who is selfish, although she would never admit that to anyone, it got on her nerves from time to time.

"Nothing's wrong _Baaaka_ ," she drawled and after a barely audible 'ok' she heard, for it's too dark to see even with her now superhuman eyesight, Shinji rustle and probably got back to sleep…

"…Hey Asuka…" maybe not, "w…why are…you here then?"

"Uh…" Asuka's brain went blank, honestly she came in here because she wanted to sleep with him but like hell she'd say something so embarrassing.

"Night…mares?"

"Y-no. No Shinji, no nightmares," she admitted because in all honesty lying to him felt _wrong_ after all he'd done for her during the war, after all the things he'd opened up to her about over their time together, after all the things she'd said to him, after she hurt him when her Unit-02 went berserk during the battle with the 15th Angel it just felt _wrong._ "It's…well it's cold tonight so…can…can I sleep with you?"

There, the technical truth. It _is_ cold so it wasn't an actual lie.

"Mhm," he murmured and after she started to hear light snoring she shook her head in amusement and ninjad over to his bed, lifted the sheets, crawled beside him and covered them both again.

She sighed in contempt as she felt the warmth but almost 'eeped' when she felt Shinji instinctively snuggle up to her, it seems like he was cold too? Still, she wrapped an arm around him, making sure her hands don't go near anywhere inappropriate. Sleeping together took a lot of trust from both of them, especially Shinji she knew even if he didn't say so due to…his past so she didn't want to break that trust, even by accident. Also, honestly Shinji is probably the last person on Earth to develop wandering hands syndrome and while she isn't a pervert she _is_ a hormone filled teenage girl.

As she looked around the room, waiting for the stress of Christmas shopping to finally sink in and make her fall asleep a glint caught her attention. She squinted and saw that it seemed to be the dog tags that Shinji had with him whenever possible, only taking it off when he slept, lying on his nightstand. Her chest tightened as she looked at it. While she would never admit it to anyone but herself, she's jealous of Miya. She had met Shinji, from what she could remember Shinji telling her when he was drunk once, that they had met only _once._ That was what? A decade ago? And their contact only lasted the better part of a day and she had made a huge impact on him.

Oh sure he was four or five at the time, children are impressionable, and _yes_ he is an idiot but still she couldn't help but feel jealous of that connection. She knew Shinji and herself are close too, probably closer really but knowing something _intellectually_ is different from feeling it _emotionally._ She looked at her roommate as he slept. His hair is messy and his face so adorably at peace that she couldn't help but smile.

Then her eyes wandered to the scar over his left eye.

A scar he had because she had failed to defeat all of the Mass Production Series Evangelions..

A scar that he carried because of her failure.

A mark, a reminder of how she had hurt him, how she had failed him.

She sighed softly. She knew Shinji didn't much care for the injury, actually he didn't care at all for the scar. In fact he had joked that it made him look more mysterious and she had to admit it added to his appeal but it didn't help alleviate the guilt she felt.

She was about to shake her head but refrained, Shinji is tired, more tired than after some battles against SEELE and she didn't want to wake him…again. So instead she ran a hand through Shinji's hair, gently of course, to clear her thoughts. Getting depressed over things won't help, she had done that before and it didn't work. No, instead she'll move forward. She too will make sure he will remember her when he finally leaves for Japan.

She snuggled up to Shinji, enjoying the warmth of her friend as she decided that she too will give him something he can keep with him all the time, to remind him of herself. Plan in mind she drifted off into the land of dreams, the war and the departure of her roommate temporarily forgotten.

* * *

 **Dec. 22, 2016**

 **Altstadt Quarter,** **Hamburg**

Shinji stood beside Asuka as they waited outside a café on the Mönckebergstraße, one of the main shopping streets in Hamburg. Shinji is dressed in a black well-fitted pea coat, hiding the white dress shirt and black tie he wore underneath. He is also wearing black dress pants and black leather shoes due to what he has planned today.

Asuka herself is dressed in a somewhat similar fashion with her favorite long red coat worn over a light grey turtle neck sweater. To show off the body she's proud of she wore a pair of tight fitting light grey pants and they're paired with a pair of knee high black boots. To keep herself warm she also wore a white scarf.

The Second Child of NERV put her hands in her coat as she stood beside her roommate as the two teenagers enjoyed the sunny weather and the pleasant bite of the cold morning air. She saw a few older men, from college students to people the age of her _father_ give her looks and she laughed inside. She was half-tempted to tell them she's actually 15 and then run to a police officer, or perhaps scream to get the attention of Section 2 and tell them they made her uncomfortable. In the end though she refrained, she has a mature figure for her age and damn proud of it, besides they can look at her fully dressed. If they tried to get touchy though…well it was a toss up to who would kill them, her in the heat of the moment or Section 2 after they had been arrested, under the orders of an angry Misato after she found out back in Japan.

And honestly none of them interested her, they'd never understand the pain she had been through, the trauma she suffered, the scars she has.

Speaking of getting looks…

Asuka glanced at her best friend beside her and her eye twitched, "Baka Shinji."

Shinji blinked in surprise before he gave Asuka his whole attention.

"Yes Asuka?" he asked her in Japanese, the way they spoke pretty much anywhere to each other, at home, outside, at work it didn't matter although they did choose to speak German when people who need to understand what they say are around and they don't speak Japanese. His German is actually quite good thanks to Asuka but Japanese just felt natural to him and Asuka just didn't care what she spoke.

"Do you have to dress like that?" She said, motioning to what he wore. "You're going to make _me_ feel underdressed."

Shinji blinked in surprise, "huh?"

Asuka in response face palmed, "don't tell me you forgot Japanese. You only speak two other languages Baka, go at this rate and you won't be able to communicate anymore."

"Oh _ha ha,_ " Shinji said with a deadpan face, "I know what you mean. I'm just wondering why? You look great as always."

Asuka flushed a bit at the complement and cleared her throat, "*ahem* I'm just saying why did you dress so nicely? Dress clothes and a pea coat? Isn't that a little much?" Of course what she really meant was 'why do you have to be so good looking?' And 'you can't be so dense that you don't notice the look women are giving you.'

Shinji of course is oblivious to all of that, and is instead being confused about the glare Asuka sent at the crowd. When he had asked Kaji why Misato always acts so strangely back on the carrier UNS Over the Rainbow last year even Kaji admitted he didn't fully understand women.

And if someone as suave as the deceased spy couldn't understand women then how could he ever hope to?

So instead he just answered her question.

"Your sister asked me to take her to some places today. I have some tickets for a show at the Hamburg State Opera in the early evening, so I suppose I'll treat her to lunch before then and probably finish up my Christmas shopping.

"Wait," she interrupted, " _you_ aren't finished with your shopping yet? Shinji Ikari, mister perfect Third Child? I didn't even _know_ you knew the meaning of the word procrastinate."

Shinji just smiled with amusement, he had gotten quite used to Asuka's attitude and had gotten to like it. It was a part of who she was.

"I am," he said with a smile that hinted a bit of smugness, causing Asuka's eye to twitch, that was her thing! His face turned calm once more before he took a sip of his coffee and shrugging, "Honestly though I think our place is missing…something."

Asuka blinked in surprise, what were they missing? They had made sure that all the furniture and appliances they'd ever need before they moved out of base housing had been delivered…and what did it have to do anything with this time of the year?

"We…" Shinji started, looking a bit embarrassed, "I…kinda wanted a Christmas Tree."

Again blinking in surprise Asuka spoke, "you want a stupid a tree taking up space? We aren't even going to be celebrating at home, we'll be going to my parents' remember?"

"W-well," Shinji looked away, his lips pursed and Asuka didn't know what she wanted to do more: Slap him and hope that suddenly makes it easier for him to speak his wishes or slap herself for calling what he wants to do stupid without a thought. "I…never really celebrated Christmas before…"

"And?" She felt her eye twitch in impatience. "I know they don't celebrate the religious part of the holiday, or most don't, in Japan but I know they still have lights, presents and stuff there. I mean now that I think about it neither of us really believe in religious crap anymore after what we've been through, why are you so into this? You've been excited for weeks…" she trailed off as she remembered a strange fact, "and don't you guys eat a bunch of KFC in Japan during this holiday? Is Turkey that hard to find?"

Shinji looked down and Asuka _really_ wanted to slap herself for making him so down, she really needs to watch her mouth more. _'Damnit Shinji why are you so easy to open up to?'_ She sighed and subconsciously took his hand in a comforting gesture. "Look I'll shut up and let you finish."

"Well…" he started, "I dunoe…I…I agree that we aren't exactly religious but…" He trailed off and gestured to the cheerful people and the decorations on store windows and smiled, "I can't help but be swept up in this you know? Last year was hard I know and neither of our lives were all that happy before that but the last year? Even if we're still sent to fight every now and then life here in German has been…good. Real good. I'm happy, you're happy and…I dunoe where I'm going with this now…"

Asuka chuckled, that sounds like the bleeding heart, super sentimental idiot she lives with all right. She gave him a hug, careful not to startle him and make him drop his coffee. "Yeah, I get you. Let's enjoy these normal peaceful days to the most right?" She nodded, why not? She had spent too much time before they met being angry, she needs to spend more time trying to be happy.

Then Asuka remembered she had interrupted him, "are you taking my sister anywhere else?"

"Mhm," he hummed in agreement, enjoying the comforting presence of his roommate. "The Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra is playing at the Laeiszhalle concert hall. After that dinner and I'll drop her home afterwards."

"Oh, I was wondering why we weren't coming home together."

"You know," an older female voice came from behind, "you two really should just get married."

Asuka's eyes widened in surprise as she blushed hard and broke off her hug with Shinji and turned around, igoring Shinji's embarrassed and incoherent blabbering, "M-mom!"

"H-Hello Oba-san," Shinji stuttered. "guten Morgen"

Nora smiled at her step-daughter's best friend, "guten Morgen Shinji-kun." She then turned to her step daughter and she couldn't help but tease her so stepped a bit closer to whisper to the blushing red head, "keeping yourself _warm_ earlier, Frau Asuka?"

"Gah?!" Asuka then decided to just glare at her mother, causing the older woman to chuckle in amusement.

' _Ah, to be young again.'_

The sound of little feet running across the pavement got their attention and they turned in time to see a small blonde haired bullet fly at Shinji, screaming in German.

"GUTEN MORGAAAAN!" the small 10 year old tackle hugged Shinji and of course he caught her with a bit of a grunt and she smiled at him. "Guten Morgan, Großer Bruder"

Shinji smiled down at the girl and ruffled her hair. Her name is Edith Langley Soryu, the recently adopted member of the Soryu family. The ten year old looked a lot better than when Shinji and Asuka first met her, they had rescued her from some human traffickers in southern Norway that SEELE used to fund themselves. Sadly she was orphaned but Asuka had asked her parents to adopt the girl. Looking at her now Shinji knew Asuka made the right call. That said he knows he has to switch to German now, Edith is every bit a genius as her older adoptive sister but she just didn't have enough time to learn a useful amount of Japanese.

"Good morning little sister," Shinji greeted her in German.

"D-do I look good?" she said to him shyly as she straightened her dark red winter coat. Shinji couldn't help but be a bit amused as the girl's fashion sense really mimicked Asuka. She wore black pants, light grey boots with a snow flake pattern.

"Very good," he said with a smile. "Looking forward to today?"

"Yes!" she chirped and Shinji laughed, if she took to Asuka in her sense of dress then she took to him when it came to love of music, classical music, opera or as Asuka called it 'old people music.'

Edith then turned to Asuka with her signature mega-watt smile, "good morning big sister!"

Asuka smiled, glad the girl looks to be a lot happier than she herself was when she was her age and she walked up to her and kneeled down and patted the girl on the head. While Asuka usually isn't a person who liked kids the small blond had become the exception, "good morning, looking good. Red suits you."

"Asuka," Shinji chimed in, "you think everything looks good in red."

"Hmph," Asuka scoffed, "and, like always, I'm right. Look at her. The again being right is just what I do unlike you, Baka Shinji."

"Ne ne," Edith tugged on her sleeve and Asuka turned to the girl who whispered to her. "I'll be borrowing big brother, ok? I'll bring him back, don't be sad."

"Wha?" Asuka squawked. What the hell is up with today? Is everyone picking on her today? Anymore blushing and she may feint.

* * *

"How is Edith?" Asuka asked as she and her mother walked down the street, looking through the windows of the shops that lined the street. Shinji had taken Edith and drove off in their car ten minutes ago. Honestly Asuka felt a little awkward around her step-mother. Not that she didn't like her, no she had accepted her with Shinji's help last year, still she hadn't actually spent that much time alone with her though. When Shinji was around she felt fine, she knew he would support her like she would him but alone? It felt awkward for her just a tiny bit but she didn't show it, or at least tried not to.

"Fine Asuka," her step mother reassured her, if she could tell Asuka was nervous she didn't show it. "She's hyper and bright but she misses you and Shinji. Why don't you move in with us at Blankenese when Shinji goes back to Japan?"

Asuka suppressed a flinch at the mention of Shinji's departure, she knew Nora meant well. Blankenese is a suburban quarter in the western part of Hamburg, the houses there are much larger than the apartments at St. Pauli in downtown Hamburg and her father had a nice house there but…

"I can't. It's too far from NERV's base," Asuka sighed, dropping to an almost inaudible whisper, temporarily switching back to Japanese. " _Our apartment in St. Pauli is already too far from NERV for a lot of people's liking. Shinji being allowed to stay in northern Tokyo-4 when he leaves took a_ lot _of effort on both our and Misato's part to convince the old man. Luckily Misato was able to convince the people over there, probably over drinks knowing the alcoholic, to let it happen."_

Nora took a few moments to digest the information, while fluent in Japanese she isn't a native speaker nor has she been speaking it for the majority of her life like Asuka, herself picking up the language in her earlier tries to bridge the gap between Asuka and herself. So after she made sure she had heard everything correctly…she blinked in surprise. She had looked at the map of Tokyo-4 out of curiosity, knowing Shinji and Asuka, the children she loved like her own were both destined to be stationed there as Tokyo-3 is rebuilt. If she remembered correctly…

" _The new base is so close to Tokyo-4 though, like here where NERV-03 is pretty much a part of Hamburg."_

" _I know. I refuse…we refuse to let what little freedom we have be taken from us,"_ Asuka scowled before she switched back to Geman and a normal volume, knowing they are no longer talking about sensitive information. "And with the Baka being too stupid and too nice to fight for it himself I have to help him."

What she didn't mention was that their small apartment felt like…home to her. They spent quite a few days looking for a good apartment and once they had moved in back in mid-February they had made the space their own, placing their own touches on their home. They each had beds big enough for two people since they comforted each other at night from time to time. Shinji had basically declared the kitchen his domain, upgrading _everything_. Herself making the living room her own entertainment centre, Shinji's cello tucked in the corner his own addition to the room.

Even now Shinji will be buying a tree, probably getting it delivered, another touch to their home and as much as she didn't want one she'd gracefully let him have his way, it is _his_ home too.

That said she did miss Misato and Pen-Pen and even Rei, it just didn't feel right without them.

Nora smiled as she looked at her step daughter, "just think about it Asuka, it's all your father and I ask."

Asuka nodded with a 'hm' before she looked at her mother with a raised brow, there was _something_ about her mother's smile she didn't like…

"Sooo…" Nora drawled, smirking, "how is life with Shinji?"

"… _Why?_ ," Asuka squinted in suspicion, "it's good as it can be with Baka Shinji."

"Oooh…" the older woman looked away innocently, "well Shinji lives with you. You two are both beautiful people with exotic appearances, especially with your red eyes and even more so with Shinji's snow white hair, and exotic for Germany, Japanese heritage. You two are both teenagers. You're both co-workers as well as the closest friends of each other…."

"W-what are you getting at?"

"I'm just wondering…when should I tell Edith she's getting nieces or nephews."

"…"

"…"

"…MOM!"

Nora laughed as her step-daughter reddened, glad to finally have the relationship with the young Eva pilot she had always wanted. _'She's growing into an amazing woman Kyoko, you'd be proud.'_

* * *

 **St. Pauli, Hamburg**

Nora looked around as she sat across the table from her step daughter at a Japanese restaurant in the quarter of the city the seemingly glued at the hip pilots called home, not actually that far from where they had been trying to do some last minute shopping.

Key word trying.

"You know," Nora started as she looked through the menu, getting Asuka to look up from her own. "I'm surprised you found this place."

"St. Pauli has always had strong ties to Asia with a good sized Asian community," Asuka returned to her menu, "it's the main reason we moved here."

Nora raised a brow, wondering if Asuka realized what she had inferred. Shinji knew nothing of Hamburg and the meek boy would stay in base housing if he was told it was for the best due to his dutiful nature, the moment they landed on Germany she knew best. Asuka had lived in Hamburg almost her whole life, she would have chosen where to live, Shinji just agreeing. She decided not to tease Asuka on the obvious fact that she chose Pauli for Shinji, she still doesn't know the limit to what Asuka will take from her before snapping and she had teased the redhead plenty already.

Asuka put in more effort in deciding their meal, for she knows her mother had no real knowledge in the names of Japanese dishes. Shinji had cooked for her family before but that's as far as her knowledge went, Asuka knows she's pretty much ordering for them both. Points to her mother for trying though, if anything to accommodate Asuka's Japanese ancestry and knowing she was trying to be a good mother made Asuka happy. _'I have to make sure I order something Shinji hasn't made for her yet. He's getting a lot better than he gives himself credit for.'_

"Are we going back to Mönckebergstraße after lunch?" Nora pursed her lips as she tried, in vain, to match up what the names of the dishes and their descriptions to the few dishes Shinji had made for her family. Then she saw the prices and gasped, "A-Asuka…the prices."

Asuka waved her off, not taking her eyes off the menu, "it's fine, Shinji and I make way more than you anyway."

Nora twitched a bit in annoyance at that fact.

"And yes we're going back, I didn't even buy anything."

"What _are_ you looking for?"

The Second Child sighed in frustration as she put down her menu, waved off the waitress that was about to walk up to her table and looked at her mother, a frustrated frown on her face. "I…I don't know…*sigh*…you know how hard for me this is but…mom…I…I need your help."

Nora blinked in surprise, she honestly thought she'd never hear her step-daughter ask her for help. She felt honoured really, she knew she only really let Shinji see her as anything but perfect and strong. Sure this is about buying a present but it's a step forward for the both of them, even more so if Nora is right about who it's for.

"I'm all ears."

"How…how do you buy presents for guys? How did you choose Papa's present?"

Nora quirked a brow, "you need to buy a present for your father?"

"N-No…" Asuka sighed, "I…don't know what to get the Baka alright? There!" she snapped a bit at the end.

"It's fine Asuka," Nora said to Asuka, letting the snap slide, knowing the young girl still had deep scars. "Men are hard to understand."

"I know! Stupid Baka Shinji," Asuka grumbled. "He even said 'anything is fine' when I got his stooge friend to ask what he wanted! Stupid, I don't get boys."

"Haha," the older woman chuckled, "well…do you have an idea?

"I don't know…I want it to be special though. I was talking to Shinji the other day and this is his first Christmas…that he'll be celebrating I mean. At least for me people tried to make me happy during this time of the year, so I want this to be something he'll really like. I'm pretty sure he's a lot more excited about coming over on the 24th than he's letting on too, probably embarrassed the idiot."

"Well…do you want to get him a practical gift or a more sentimental gift? Trust me, it's easier to have an idea in mind instead of…just wandering around."

"…Sentimental, Shinji's a big softie," Asuka nodded to herself besides what would she do for a practical gift? She knew nothing of playing music and while she had learned from him how to cook she knows nothing compared to him so buying him a new appliance or knife set is out the window.

"What do you want it to mean?"

"I…I.." Asuka reached for the necklace hidden under her sweater. It was a simple thing but of obviously high quality, a fine gold chain attached to a small locket. She opened it and smirked at the site of the picture Misato had taken on the UNS Over the Rainbow. It was taken just after the defeat of the giant fish Angel, her and Shinji on the flight deck, Unit-02 on in the background. She wore her red plugsuit with her hands on her hips and a victorious smirk on her face while beside her Shinji stood in her spare plugsuit looking a bit uncomfortable with an embarrassed smile on his face, both of them still covered in LCL. On the side opposite of the locket, engraved, is the date that they had met on the damn rust bucket in the middle of the Pacific. The locket had been gifted alongside her red coat for her birthday on December 4 and the gift touched her, a reminder of the start of their complicated friendship, and of an amusing memory. "I want something that will remind him of us. Something that he can wear anywhere."

"Well do you want to get him a locket then? A necklace like yours? Does he wear jewelry at all? If he does what would he wear?" Nora took a sip of water, her mouth getting dry.

Asuka hummed in thought, Shinji being the way too nice kid he is she knew he would wear anything she gave him unless it was _really_ unreasonable. She wouldn't give him a necklace, she knows that for sure. She may be jealous of the dog tags he always wears but she also knew how much it meant to him and she did respect this Miya woman for the positive influence she had on Shinji, even if she also had negative influences on him in her opinion. She wouldn't make him choose to wear one or the other. A ring? That made her blush, no, too many meanings that can be taken the wrong way, plus she wanted something he could wear over his plugsuit when going into combat, unlike the dog tags which need a special pocket to store. A watch? No, he'll probably complain about how expensive it is and she'll end up snapping at him, her own personality preventing her from buying anything but the best for Asuka Langley Soryu does not accept anything less.

That's it! A bracelet! He could wear that over his plugsuit and unlike a necklace it wouldn't flow around and maybe off him as he gets thrown around in combat or even just a combat air drop so he wouldn't need to get another addition to his plugsuit. And if she gets it made out of stainless steel then it wouldn't rust!

She really is a genius.

* * *

 **December 24, 2016**

*click*

The door to the Soryu/Ikari apartment opened, letting in the cold night air and two teenagers walked in, burdened with presents. Allowing Asuka to go in first, Shinji held the door open before following her inside and closing the door behind him, the door locking itself.

"See," Shinji started as they both started taking off their shoes as he turned to the lights of the Christmas tree, the only source of light in their dark apartment. "It looks nice."

"Yes yes," Asuka rolled her eyes, in her opinion it was tacky but if it made him happy then that's all that matters for her. "It's all very pretty."

Shinji let the dismissive comment roll off him, knowing she didn't meant to insult him. Instead he just turned on the light as he carried the various presents that he and Asuka had received. They had just spent the day at Asuka's family's house in the west end of Hamburg, celebrating with some of the few people who Shinji thought of as family.

Even though he found it really embarrassing when Asuka's step-mother and Edith would indirectly imply what kind of family member he is.

He walked in, bags and boxes in hand and dropped off the presents, mostly clothes and a few expensive bottles of wine, in the living room before walking back to the entryway to hang up his jacket. Since he didn't need to dress formally this time around to fit in he was dressed far more casually. He wore a black leather jacket with a red stripe running down each arm and after taking it off and hanging it he heard Asuka snicker.

The reason for that is he wore the gaudiest, tackiest, ugliest Christmas sweater on the face of the planet, something Asuka had bought for him a few weeks ago as a joke. Personally he found it funny too and so did Edith earlier today so he wore it happily.

If anything it's a _lot_ better than wearing Asuka's spare plugsuit had been. That was embarrassing, the red skin tight suit not built for his sex, having extra material in all the wrong places and lacking extra material in all the wrong places as far as he's concerned.

"Hey Shinji," Asuka called him and he turned around to face her, seeing her look a brown package stacked in the corner of their hallway. Peering over Asuka's shoulder he could see that a note was on top from Section 2 saying that it was from one Chiho Hidaka. "Packages from my cousin."

"I hope she's doing well," Shinji commented as he remembered his sick friend.

"She's strong Shinji," Asuka assured him as she walked to the living room while Shinji went off to the kitchen, probably grabbing himself a glass of wine or something similar. Asuka turned on a light before opening the package. Sitting on top of crumpled packing paper was a note and she took it and read.

 _Dear Cousin,_

 _Asuka-chan I hope this letter finds you and Shinji well and hopefully in time for my present to the two of you to not be late for this season. I know you've never had a lot of attachment to this time of the year but I hope this year will be special._

 _I have to thank you for the offer to move me to a better hospital in Germany, I look forward to being able to see you and aunty and uncle again. It gets a bit lonely here, I admit but your emails about you and Shinji's adventures brightens my day. Also please send my regards and thanks to Shinji for the treats he had sent me, they were as delicious as always and some of the children here at the hospital enjoyed them._

Asuka shook her head at that, she honestly wondered sometimes who was nicer, Shinji or Chiho?

 _Edith-chan sounds lovely and I'm glad she was taken in by your family. She sounds like a mix of you and Shinji-kun and I look forward to meeting her as well._

 _Perhaps she's what you children will be like?_

Asuka's face reddened, "the hell?!"

"Something wrong Asuka?" she heard Shinji call from the kitchen as she heard the distinct pop of a bottle of wine being opened.

"N-NOTHING!" Asuka yelled as she read the rest of the letter.

 _I hope you two enjoy the gift I've sent you both and I look forward to your next email._

 _Missing you both,_

 _Chiho Hidaka_

 _PS: I have just bought a laptop so I don't have to rely on the computer in the recreation room. Can we video message on the internet in the future? I would love to see and hear you both._

 _PPS: About this Miss Ludwig person that's trying to get close to Shinji-kun, what is she liked? I don't mind sharing Shinji-kun but only if she's a good person._

"Gah!" Asuka shoved the note into her pocket in sheer embarrassment. She knew Chiho had a BIG thing for Baka Shinji, whose as oblivious as can be physically possbile. Chiho had once told her that they should share Shinji, to keep an eye on him she said, and that Asuka is the alpha female of 'Team Shinji.'

She honestly didn't know what to think about that.

…other than be embarrassed of course. It's so…so…gah! What happened to Japanese decency?!

"Asuka!"

"WAH!" she shrieked in surprise before she looked up at Shinji, "you scared the shit out of me!"

"Sorry," he apologized but she saw a bit of amusement on his face. "Merry Christmas!"

Asuka blinked before turning to the clock and was surprised to see that it was now midnight, Christmas Day, wow they really did come home late. She turned to Shinji and smiled, "Merry Christmas Baka."

"So what did Chiho send us?"

"Good question," she took out the packing paper to see two picture frames and handed one to Shinji. They were identical pictures and they both smiled, it was a class picture of their class from Tokyo-3 Middle School. The picture itself was taken soon after the battle with the eighth Angel, a photo from happier and simpler times. "Man I look even better now."

"Hey Asuka."

"Hm?" she hummed as she started to set up the picture frame in their living room, she already knew Shinji would set his up in the kitchen.

"Here," she turned to him and was shocked by the two large boxes, one rectangular and the other square. "How did you hide all that?" She was in his room just a few days ago and he never closed his closet either.

"Section 2 hid them next door for me," he explained as she walked up to the smaller square box and tore it open, revealing…

"A guitar amp?" her eyes shot to the large rectangular present and absolutely _shredded_ the wrapping paper, revealing a plain brown box. Opening it she saw a guitar case, it was rectangular and a bronze gold colour, written on it was 'Gibson.' After gingerly taking it out and placing it on the floor she opened it. She opened it and saw an electric guitar. "Les Paul Delux in cherry red…it's…it's beautiful. I don't know what to say…thank you Shinji."

"You welcome," Shinji smiled, she obviously liked it. He had gone through quite a bit of trouble to get to know what she wanted and it had been worth it to see her smile. He already looked forward to playing together with her when she started to learn.

Asuka then ran off into her room and grabbed a small wrapped box and back into the living room and searched for around ten minutes, forgetting where she had hidden her present for him. After _finally_ finding it she went into the living room to see it empty. She looked around to see Shinji's back through the double glass doors that lead from their kitchen and into the balcony. She pocketed her present for him and grabbed her coat and Shinji's leather jacket and walked out.

Stepping onto the balcony of their apartment and closing the door behind her she put his jacket over him.

"I know idiots can't get sick but aren't you cold?" she smirked as she leaned on the railing beside him. She then saw he had two glasses of wine and he offered her one and she took it. "Haven't drank enough yet? You drank quite a bit of beer earlier, please don't turn into another Misato. I don't think the universe can two black holes that swallow all alcohol in their vicinity."

"Oh ha ha," Shinji shook his head in amusement, "I don't really like beer, I just did it because your dad kept offering it."

"And you didn't want to be rude right?" she deadpanned before shaking her head, "you are unbelievable."

She handed Shinji a box and turned around in embarrassment. A part of her felt like her gift didn't match up with what she got too, she knew that guitar costed Shinji a few thousand Euros and while she didn't skimp out she felt like hers just didn't match up. She heard tearing paper and she braced herself, for what she didn't really know.

"A…Asuka…" Shinji voice trailed off and Asuka gathered herself and turned to him and saw him with such a bright, happy and touched on smile on his face she couldn't help but blush.

Well damn, it looks like her step-mom knew her stuff, and any doubt she had in herself was burned away. Shinji really was a sentimental person, he placed meanings of items and actions, precious memories and the like higher than just the sheer material worth of an item.

In his hand he held a bracelet made of shining steel links connected to a rectangular plate of stainless steel. Engraved into it are two music notes, one had a red ruby and the other a purple topaz cut into the shape of the notes and inset into the metal. Below the two notes, engraved, is the date of her and Shinji's second and successful battle against the Seventh Angel. While their meeting on the USN Over the Rainbow had been the start of their friendship she actually hadn't gotten along with Shinji immediately, she found him annoying and infuriating, viewing him as a challenge to herself among other things. It hadn't been 'till they were forced to live together during their synchronization training to defeat the Seventh Angel that they started to get along.

She watched as Shinji rolled up his left sleeve put the bracelet on and clasped it secure. He ran a finger over the notes and engravings with a smile on his face.

"Do…you like it?" she asked him and he turned to her with a smile and a blush on his face, from the cold or something else she didn't know. She could feel herself reddening as well, from the cold or something else she, again didn't know.

"I love it."

Asuka smiled, satisfied before blinking in surprise as something floated down between them.

It was small and white and she held her hand out to catch it only to see it melt.

Both of them gasped and looked up with wide eyes to see more of it coming down.

Snow.

It was snowing!

Both of them smiled, their eyes full of childish wonder at the new site as some of the people on the street bellow or standing on their balconies like them cheered. People ran into their homes and came out with more people, pointing up at the night sky. The two young soldiers just drank in and enjoyed the moment of peace, future battles and past horrors forgotten as they both felt, for the first time, the hope of a peaceful happy future.

A future where they no longer needed to fight.

A future where quiet moments like these happen everyday.

"Merry Christmas Asuka," Shinji said as he clanked his glass with hers in a small toast before taking a sip.

"Merry Christmas Baka Shinji," she greeted back and took a sip.

Wine had never tasted so good.

 **H**

 **A/N**

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to my readers!

With the story going to focus more on the sekirei plan we're going to see less of Asuka since she's stuck in Germany for the time being so I wanted to have a chapter that just focused on Asuka and Shinji's life after the Angel War but before the sekirei plan.

How did you guys like it? I really enjoyed writing this even if I had to really push for it to make the deadline.

The next chapter with Shinji and the sekirei is almost finished, mid-January release!

Stay safe during the holidays anyone, and whatever you celebrate have fun!


	5. We Don't Like Hospitals

**CHAPTER 3: We Don't Like Hospitals**

 **Continental Tower Hotel, Southern Sector, Tokyo-4**

"Ugh…scheiße," Shinji moaned as opened his eyes, head hurting a little…yeah he drank a wee bit too much on the plane. Luckily as a Nephilim he shook off hangovers like a champion and after a shower he knew he'll be fine. If he was Misato, who he was sure was half beer and half human, he wouldn't be able to do anything for the entire morning through to the afternoon. Still he really needed to watch himself. Thanks to living with Asuka and her German drinking habits, even if she's just as underage as he is, he picked up the (probably) bad habit of drinking too much (just a bit too much) whenever he gets really down.

That said, he felt comfortable, he almost didn't want to get out of bed.

Almost

A few years working as an Evangelion pilot, living on that hectic schedule and the discipline his old kenjutsu sensei ingrained into him meant that Shinji just naturally woke up early…Unless he'd been injured and confined to a hospital bed….which happened often now that he thought about it.

Still, he took a few minutes to bask in the warmth and stretched in the bed…and felt something soft and warm on top of him.

Wait.

"Mmmh"

And…was that a moan?

Shinji opened his eyes and looked down towards his chest and saw…pink?

He scrunched his brows in drowsy confusion; nothing seemed to be making sense.

Oh wait, _right_!

Since he had to pack up all his things to move back to Japan his room had been totally empty so he had been sleeping with Asuka every night before he had to leave Germany…Wait no, she has red hair and was in Hamburg plus…isn't he _already_ in Japan? He tried to move his limbs but found that he could only move his right arm, his left arm and legs were being restrained by something…soft…and warm. He lifted the blanket off of him and saw…a girl. She wore a grey shirt that was too big for her and a pair of black shorts and he recognized that both were his. She was a petit girl that much Shinji could tell but he couldn't see her face as it was pressed against his chest while her pink hair flowed over them both. His face reddened when the girl murmured something in her sleep and pressed her soft chest against him.

Then he remembered.

She was Benitsubasa, a sekirei, a race of aliens who reacted to humans who were their 'destined' ones…their mates.

' _Holy shit…I'm…married?'_ he thought with not a small amount of sleepy confusion.

Then he remembered the kiss, the second one, the one _he_ started. It wasn't chaste like the first one when he…winged? Yes, winged her. No the second one had tongue… _lots_ of tongue.

' _WHAT THE HELL GOT INTO ME?!'_ When the hell did he get so bold?! The blush on his face deepened to a red that matched the bright red armor of Unit-02. _'I'm going to hold back my drinking from now on.'_

Well if he was sleepy before he felt _fully_ awake now.

He couldn't help but smile though. A part of him still couldn't believe he had a girlfriend…of sorts. He never thought of himself as a particularly noteworthy person. Even being an Evangelion pilot didn't seem too noteworthy to him, he was the only one who could do it and due to the importance of Eva he was sure NERV and the UN would have forced him anyway. And being Nephilim? That wasn't a choice of his, it just happened.

He didn't feel he was a genius like Asuka, or a good tactician (in the crazy way) that Misato was. He didn't think he was as calm in tough situations as Rei was or as brave as the soldiers that fought beside him on occassion. In his opinion the only thing he had was his skill with a blade and he really doubted he could evenly match Miya in a sword fight, the memory of her sheer presence when they first met seemed to tell him so.

Plus…he was dirty, stained by the past.

He embraced his sekirei with his one free arm, what made him worthy of such an amazing girl?

…Wait was she his girlfriend? She said 'mate' didn't she? Were they…married? Wait, didn't he wing Miya when he was a kid? He for sure remembered a kiss and wings of light. So…he had _two_ wives?...And he was married at the age of _FIVE?!_

He couldn't help but let off a silent groan, _'I am NOT looking forward to Misato-san finding out about this.'_ What happened to his simple life of fighting eldritch abominations inside a man-made god?

...Oh God, didn't Benitsubasa say that some ashikabi have _multiple_ sekirei? And he already had two…

He couldn't help but sigh.

Yup, if SEELE doesn't kill him today then Misato is going to kill him with her teasing when he finally reports to NERV's new base tomorrow.

Still, he didn't regret doing what he'd done, if anything for Benitsubasa's sake. If he made her happy, if she wanted to be with him he wouldn't deny her that as long as she knows the danger. Shinji was all too familiar with what it feels like for life to keep people you want to be with away from you and he wouldn't wish that on anyone.

He ran his one free hand through her silky soft hair, enjoying the moment. While still uncomfortable with more intimate acts this small one felt ok to him. Still he had to wonder where did that kiss come from yesterday? He pursed his lips, while he was somewhat ok if her psychic influence was making him more comfortable with being with his sekirei , gods knew he wasn't a 'social person', he hoped that's where it stopped.

' _No, if there's a negative effect she would have told me,'_ he thought with a nod. If he learned one thing about his pink haired sekirei yesterday it was that she was loyal to him first and foremost. He did hope it didn't affect his ability to synch with Eva though and that, more importantly, synching with Eva didn't affect his sekirei. _'I should inform Maya tomorrow anyway.'_

The girl murmured, "Shinji-sama," and he blushed again from the affection in her sleepy tone.

He sighed, he did have a lot of things planned for the day so he had to get up, much to his own chagrin.

Using the fine delicate touch that learning how to move something as large as an Evangelion had given him, constructs so massive they could and _did_ cause massive property damage with a step, he gently untangled himself from his sekirei's limbs. Once he was free he quietly slid off the bed and onto his feet. He gently tucked in his sekirei before slipping on Miya's dog tags, tucking them under his shirt. Happy again to have his good luck charm on he picked up and put on his eye patch before grabbing one of his two cellphones that he left on the nightstand. Aside from the colour, black for his own and red for NERV issue, they were the same model touch screen phone and he only needed to check the time anyway so he didn't care which.

' _Seven O'clock, Benitsubasa still has time to sleep,'_ he decided. While he did have to visit the hospital this morning and then have lunch with Takami it was still early enough that he could let her sleep. Relationship and psychic connection or not he didn't know…well a lot about his…mate. Was she a morning person like him? She seemed the diligent type with how she talked about her training…then again Rei was diligent with NERV work but she wasn't a morning person either.

Walking into the room's kitchen, he opened the fridge and the pantry and smiled at the full and fresh stock of ingredients, Misato's doing no doubt, she knew how much he loved cooking and since the hotel he's staying in is actually one of NERV's many front companies arranging for special service wouldn't be hard. Happy with the arrangements and a breakfast plan in mind he grabbed a change of clothes from his luggage. He didn't feel the need to unpack since he didn't know how long he had to be at NERV's new Grissom Base for to reactivate Unit-01 so he kept everything in his bags.

After checking his sekirei is still comfortably asleep he went off to get cleaned up and have a shower.

A nice, long and _cold_ shower.

Damn his teenage hormones.

* * *

"Shinji-sama?" Benitsubasa murmured as she awoke and felt the lack of her ashikabi's comforting warmth. She opened her eyes and saw that she was alone in bed and for a moment she panicked, thinking that her winging was some delusional dream because by the gods she had had less crazy dreams about her Shinji-sama before. She feared that her wanting to meet him had finally made her hallucinate but that lasted only a moment as she felt her gentle ashikabi's presence through her bond.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes to fully wake up she started to hear the soft talking of…someone she didn't recognize.

Pushing herself on to her elbows she saw the side her ashikabi's head above the back of a chair, the seat between them blocking her from seeing anything else. Shinji sat at the room's lounge area watching what seemed to be the morning news to her while sipping something from a white cup, coffee probably.

"G-good morning, Shinji-sama," she greeted him with a stutter; it still felt so…so _surreal_ for her to wake up and just have him there. She pinched herself discreetly, yup, not dreaming.

Her Shinji-sama looked at her and smiled and she couldn't help but blush, it was a cute smile.

"Guten morgan Benitsubasa-san," he said in…German? She wasn't sure, "it means good morning in German."

"Oh…uh guten morgan…and just Benitsubasa is fine, Shinji-sama," she replied while making a mental note to try and pick up some German. She remembered how her ashikabi came back to Japan due to being deployed to NERV's new base, would he leave afterwards? If he did then she needed to be ready.

Shinji smiled in amusement, her pronunciation was a bit awkward and her accent on the thick side but it wasn't as bad as his was when he first tried. It wasn't like he's an expert either, sure he's fluent in German but he's pretty sure there's something about his pronunciations that he just can't hear. Should he teach her German too? Being sent back to Germany for whatever reason is a real enough possibility and while he has no plans for after the hunt for SEELE and his service to NERVE moving to Germany permanently is a possibility.

 _'Maybe get a job at that Japanese restaurant,'_ he mused as he remembered he and Asuka's favorite place to eat in Hamburg.

Benitsubasa yawned, stretched and got up and walked over. Coming into the lounge she saw that her ashikabi is currently dressed in a pair of black jeans and red golf shirt while a simple silver bracelet with two musical notes made of gemstone, one red and one purple, inset into it was on his left wrist

' _That's pretty,'_ she thought as she rubbed her eyes before looking down to the coffee table in front of him where two plates of a simple western breakfast of toast, scrambled eggs, sausages were laid out near a small basket of croissants which she could smell were fresh. The young sekirei could also see a small jar of strawberry jam, which was her favorite as luck would have it, off to the side along with some cream and sugar. What made her curious though is that there was a cup of coffee and a cup of tea off to the side, clearly hers.

Shinji noticed her looking at the drinks and explained, "I didn't know what you liked so I just made a simple breakfast. I also didn't know if you wanted coffee or tea so…oh! There's milk and some juice in the fridge too. Just help yourself to whatever you like."

"Uh t-thank you," Benitsubasa blinked in surprise, simple it may be but it looked and smelled _delicious._ In all honesty she felt a bit embarrassed and a tad bit inadequate, not knowing how to cook anything worth mentioning herself. Still, one more point to her 'My Ashikabi is Awesome' scale. "Y-you didn't need to do so much."

She sat down beside her ashikabi and grabbed a cup of coffee and felt really embarrassed as he watched her put in spoon full after spoon full of sugar. Now usually she'd drink milk to help her grow, she always hated being among the shorter and less…developed of her sisters but with her ashikabi taking the time to prepare two drinks just so he could cater to her? Combine that with her ashikabi's seemingly permanent puppy dog face and she'd feel pretty damn bad if she didn't take the coffee or tea even if he probably wouldn't mind if she grabbed some milk from the fridge.

Shinji felt a little bit of him die though as he watched the pinked haired alien put a _lot_ of sugar into her coffee. While he's no coffee snob himself, at the end of the day the caffeine is just more important to him, he _did_ appreciate the taste.

' _I wonder if that's a non-human thing?'_ he mused, his sisters all liked their coffee on the _very_ sweet side and they weren't completely human either and even Kaworu liked his coffee with a lot of sugar.

"So what's the plan for today Shinji-sama?"

He took a sip of his coffee before answering, "well we'll be going to visit a friend of mine this morning. She's in a hospital east of here. After that lunch with Takami-san at a restaurant called The Maple not too far from the hospital. After that I just want to rest here, I know you probably want to do something together and get to know each other but I have to report to NERV tomorrow afternoon and I'll probably start work as soon as I arrive so…sorry."

He meant it too, if she had been waiting for him as long as she had then he wanted to make her happy.

Benitsubasa shook her head, "I understand Shinji-sama." She was about to ask about who the friend is but then noticed the handgun, what model she didn't know, on the table. "Ashikabi-sama?"

"Hm?" He blinked and looked at her before following her line of sight to the pistol, "oh, just something to defend myself with. I…don't like being followed around by Section 2 all the time…oh that's uh, the people who do stuff like guard us pilots. After a lot of arguing my superiors gave me a deal, since I can use my abilities to defend myself they saw it fit to cancel my Section 2 detail…as long as I carry a weapon." Shinji then picked up the handgun and grimaced, turning and giving his sekirei a light bow, "sorry, leaving it out is bad manners."

"It's fine Shinji-sama, a lot of sekirei use weapons and while none use a gun I've seen lot of them with MBI's soldiers," then Benitsubasa frowned, "so NERV has no one looking after you?"

"Of course they do. NERV has more than few quick response teams spread throughout Tokyo-4, since I'm here. I even have soldiers of my own but they're on base up north," he explained before he gave her a bittersweet smile. "It may seem like no one watches me but…well I can't go anywhere without NERV sending in a small army beforehand. Even this hotel is one of the front companies NERV uses to fund itself."

She blinked in surprise before she remembered that he had flown into Tokyo-4 via a civilian airline… "Shinji-sama…"

"Yes Benitsubasa?"

"The airline you took, that's ran by NERV too isn't it?" at his nod she bit her lower lip in frustration. She had trained and accepter what being with him meant on the battlefield but never thought about what a pilot of those things meant for his personal life. That was unacceptable, she's a sekirei, she should have put more thought into it. She felt frustrated again, something she couldn't do anything about! Damnit, she was strong and yet…and yet she can't do anything about this...

She felt her ashikabi's warm and surprisingly soft hand gently hold one of her own and she looked up at him. "It's okay Benitsubasa, life may be restrictive and...hard for me sometimes but...it's good most of the time. I wouldn't change my life, I've met a lot of good people Benitsubasa. Believe me."

Shinji remembered his first ever real Christmas, the party at Asuka's parent's house and watching his first ever snowfall with his best friend. Yeah, life could be rough for him but…but it had it's good moments, and it was those he treasured and fought for.

The pink haired sekirei couldn't help but shed a sad tear for her young ashikabi. While she, admittedly, didn't have a lot of first-hand experience with human life she knew his youth shouldn't be like this! Wiping the moisture off her face with the back of her hand she put down her cup back on the table and slid over and sat on his lap, facing Shinji and wrapped her arms around his neck in a gentle embrace, resting her head on his shoulders.

She then pulled away to face him and put on a serious voice and looked him in the eye, her red into his lone blue. "I'll protect you. Shinji-sama I swear I'll stay by your side and protect you so you can live happily. You deserve more."

"Living and dying alone are my worst fears you know," he blushed up a storm, "…promise?"

"I'll be with you, forever and ever," she said and she was about to close her eyes and lean in for a kiss but stopped herself as she felt her ashikabi's discomfort and she stopped herself. She wanted to smack herself, it should have been obvious yesterday was due to the alcohol he drank during the flight over and the heat of the moment. Humans don't go straight to kissing after less than a day! Or she was pretty sure that's how they thought, that's what Takami had told her anyway and she herself didn't have any experience.

So with his discomfort in mind she slid off him and just sat beside him. She was winged by him and that's what really mattered. She hoped they would grow closer as time passed but for now she would enjoy his warm presence through their bond…

*knock* *knock* *knock*

…And _just_ when she was about to sample the breakfast her ashikabi had made for her the doorbell rang, much to her chagrin. She was just starting to forget about her frustration at her own powerlessness.

She got up, straightened her borrowed clothes out, straightened her messy hair and turned to him.

"Shinji-sama I'll get the door," she said as she walked to the door, making a sure to quickly grab her gloves, just in case it was an enemy. She slipped on the dark pink fingerless gloves and cracked her knuckles, if she's lucky she can take out her frustration on one of her sisters.

"P-please don't do anything rash Benitsubasa."

She froze mid step before feeling embarrassed at her eagerness for some action but can one blame her? She felt so frustrated damnit! She took a deep breath before opening the door and what she found was a woman in a maid outfit carrying a box and looking a little surprised.

"Hello?" the sekirei asked with a raised brow but made sure to stay on guard. She could be an enemy sekirei or she could be an assassin after her Shinji-sama.

"…Uh," the woman obviously did not expect her to answer the door. Did she know her ashikabi? "I work for the hotel, I have a package that just arrived from MBI for Ikari-sama. Is he present?"

"Yes, he is," she said as she glanced back to see her ashikabi walking up to her.

He shyly smiled when he saw the maid and gave her a nod, "hello, I'm Ikari."

"Ah, good morning sir," the maid greeted him and Benitsubasa saw the maid give her a questioning glance before turning back to Shinji and handling him the package, "have a nice day Ikari-sama and sir, it's an honour meeting you."

"T-thank you maid-san," and with that the maid left and Benitsubasa closed the door before turning to her ashikabi with a questioning look.

"You know each other Shinji-sama? She seems to recognize you."

Her Shinji-sama shrugged, "with this hotel actually being run by NERV I doubt they'd send a normal employee to my room so she's probably one of our agents. So while she doesn't know me she probably knows _of_ me. Not sure though, sorry."

Still he was pleasantly surprised by her friendly demeanor, maybe NERV Japan thought better of him? He was originally from this branch after all.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Shinji-sama." She took the package from him and read the note and found that Takami had sent her things for her, which she appreciated. Now she didn't have to leave her Shinji-sama's side and considering his circumstances she wanted to stick to him like glue. "It seems they've sent me my stuff. I'm going to take a shower and get freshened up before breakfast."

"Of course," Shinji smiled before going off to grab another cup of coffee.

After retrieving a change of clothes she walked to the bathroom in a good mood. So far it had been a fairly good morning. Sure she learned something about her ashikabi's life she can't do anything about but she _did_ wake up to the site of her cute ashikabi. She even got to sit on his lap this morning and after a nice shower, breakfast with her Shinji-sama!

Only thing she could of think of that would make this day better is beating someone to a pulp, and hey it's still early in the morning so fingers crossed!

* * *

Shinji watched his sekirei walk into the bathroom and had to force himself to look away when his sight started to drift down to…wow, maybe Asuka was right when they first met.

He really is a pervert.

But damn, what a morning so far, he still remembered what she felt like as she sat on his lap. The thought made him blush, while he's no stranger to a body pressed against his own since sometimes Asuka slept with him he still couldn't help but feel embarrassed at the soft sensation. Still, a part of him felt _very_ uncomfortable so he was happy she didn't push for more.

Remembering what he had planned for today he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out his red work phone and after carefully typing in his password, making sure he made no mistake since the phone would fry itself, he tapped in a phone number.

After hearing the phone ring for a few moments he heard someone pick up and a woman's voice answered.

"Scrambled connection established. Please state your authentication code."

"Sierra-India-Tango-Delta-Charlie."

"...Authentication code confirmed, Captain Ikari. How may NERV Tokyo-4 Office help you today?"

"I'd like to make a reservation at The Maple. A secure booth please, table for three at noon."

"Of course," she answered and he could hear her typing in the background, "…done, anything else Captain?"

Shinji hummed as he thought and remembered that Benitsubasa would probably be coming with him to NERV tomorrow, she made it clear she wanted to help keep him safe. Also in all honesty he did feel nervous about reactivating Unit-01, other than Unit-00 his Evangelion had always been the most temperamental. Sure he knew his own mother was in Unit-01, but did Eva have a mind of its own? What state of mind was she in? Did all the time he was away from her during Unit-01's rebuild affect her? All frankly terrifying questions that he had no answers to, it really was scary that with his security clearance he now knew how much NERV _didn't_ know about Eva. If anything his brave sekirei would give him some comfort.

"I need one…" then he remembered Miya and how she may want to come along on the off chance he'll run into her today, as unlikely as that may be. "Make that two security passes and NERV booklets ready. I'll be bringing someone with me to Bethany Base, maybe two."

"…Done Captain, they'll be ready for you when arrive at The Maple later today," she told him without questioning him. That's definitely something he enjoyed as a part of NERV's inner circle, no one apart from Asuka, the Head of Project E, the Commander and Vice-Commander to question him, "anything else sir?"

Shinji thought for a bit and remembered he should probably get a car. While walking is nice and all he's quite far from the hospital. Besides, Asuka always said he doesn't take advantage of NERV often enough…"Actually can I get a car delivered to The Continental Tower Hotel? A spare from Section 2 will be fine, just until I can get a car of my own."

"Understood sir, a car will be delivered to the hotel within the hour."

"Can I also get a status report on the flight that should be on stand-by at Tokyo-4 International Airport? It should be under the names of both myself and Captain Soryu and cleared by Commander Fuyutsuki and Vice-Commander Katsuragi."

"One moment…The flight is on stand-by with a full complement of NERV medical personnel and equipment as per your and Captain Soryu's orders. The flight and its escorts are ready to take off from Tokyo-4 International on your word Captain. Will that be all sir?"

Shinji blinked in surprise, escorts? He didn't approve that, a fighter escort for what was basically a shuttle flight seemed a bit excessive…then he remembered that Asuka had been the one who set up the flight mission, he just signed off on it. That made sense to him, Asuka never half-assed _anything_ when it came to the few she cared about and assigning a flight of UN fighters for a personal mission seemed very Asuka _._ "Yes that's it. Thank you."

"It's been my pleasure Captain Ikari, and sir?"

"Yes?"

"Welcome back to Japan," again he was surprised by the friendliness and...respect in her tone, a very welcome change from how most talked to him in Germany that's for sure.

"Thank you, it's good to be back home," and with that he hanged up and pocketed his phone.

Going to be a busy day today.

* * *

 **Hiyamakai Hospital, Eastern Sector, Tokyo-4**

Shinji pulled into the parking lot of Hiyamakai Hospital in a black 2016 Mercedes G-Class SUV modified by NERV's Section 2.

After he stepped out of the black SUV, making sure to pick up the bouquet of assorted roses he bought on the way, he closed the door. Feeling a gloved hand hold his own bare one he looked up to see his pink haired sekirei. Her pink hair was once more up into her customary side ponytail with daisy clips. She was dressed in the same black outfit with red bow she had worn when they first met, complete with the purple cross earing. There was one difference though in that the two symbols of white birds on her top's left and right breast were now missing.

She had explained to him on the car ride that it was a symbol of the 'Disciplinary Squad', whatever that was. Since he had winged her she couldn't be a member anymore but she quickly reassured him that since they had met she had already decided to follow him instead. With her winging she, for sure, lost the ability to become a member and so could no longer wear the symbol, not that she cared.

He smiled at his blushing sekirei as they walked to the hospital proper. He had been slightly surprised that she hadn't asked about him driving considering his age but quickly mentally shrugged it off. She seemed like a smart girl and anyone who knows that he works for NERV could easily make the correct assumption that he's using NERV's authority to do so.

He shook his head and looked at his sekirei, "let's go."

Quickly entering the hospital and registering as a visitor Shinji quickly made his way over to Chiho's room, he didn't even need to ask where it was as Asuka had already found out for him before he left Germany.

"So Shinji-sama…." She said as they walked through the quiet white walls of the hospital. Shinji gave her all of his attention, he never liked hospitals and honestly he'd spent enough time in them to last two lifetimes by now. Benitsuabasa actually sensed his dislike of the place it was so strong, and was why she decided to speak up, to get his mind off of it.

"Yes Benitsubasa?"

"Who are we visiting?"

Shinji blinked a few times and felt embarrassed. His head had been filled with so many strange thoughts today that he had totally forgotten to fill out his sekirei on the details.

"Sorry, should have told you earlier. We're visiting Chiho Hidaka. She's the cousin of…" he trailed off when he saw some other people walking near them, "my friend back in Germany."

Benitsubasa nodded, understanding his choice of words.

She herself was extra aware too, she saw a girl that kind of reminded her of one of her sekirei sisters and was on guard. She wouldn't start anything, she had a suspicion her ashikabi wouldn't like that here, but she would _crush_ anyone who attacked them with a smile on her face.

"Well, those two are close and Chiho-san is a good friend of mine as well. She'd always been a sick girl, she was technically my classmate at Tokyo-3 Middle School but I don't remember ever seeing her in class, instead she would watch via webcam. We met when I volunteered to be the one that made sure she got her homework and making sure she stays caught up. As the war with the Angels went on her…health deteriorated to the point that she struggled to reach the shelters in time during drills. She'd always been sickly so my friend's family pulled some strings and had her moved here, away from the war to get the care she needed but…"

"But?" The pink haired sekirei already knew the answer wouldn't be pleasant; the negative emotions flowing out of her ashikabi were crystal clear even to one as ungifted with her species' psychic abilities as herself.

Shinji gave a frustrated sigh, "her treatment here has been lackluster. Her progress to recovery has been basically non-existent. She's actually gotten a little bit worse recently!"

And what made it all worse is that the sweet girl had been paying for her treatment using the money her dead parents had left behind for her! It made even someone as peaceful as Shinji's blood boil, the hospital staff had been lucky that it's him that had been sent back to Japan first.

Shinji knew if _Asuka_ had been the one that had been sent first she would have stormed the hospital with her team of elite NERV spec-op commandos in tow. He could imagine it, fires burning and Asuka advancing with her fiery red hair flowing behind her like a flag of an army at war as she looked for answers for her cousin's terrible treatment. She would be on the fucking warpath and he couldn't blame her if it actually happened.

And may Lilith have mercy on the soul of anyone dumb enough to stand in her way if she had come.

Benitsubasa gave his hand a quick squeeze as she sensed his thoughts and he continued. "One of the reasons I-we're here today is to finalize her transfer to a better facility in Germany where I know she'll be a priority patient and where she has family to visit her."

"Is it connected to your…er, workplace Shinji-sama?"

Shinji nodded, "it is and it's run by some of her family. She'll be well taken care of there."

Reaching the door labeled '301' Shinji looked at the name plate and saw that it did say 'Chiho Hidaka' and felt a little better that she at least got a room of her own. She's basically lived in this hospital since she moved away from Tokyo-3 part way through the war after all so it made him feel a little better that she had her own space.

Shinji took a deep breath to prepare himself, he cared for Chiho a _lot_ and while he had seen her via webcam seeing her in the hospital in person would be different. Chiho had always been sharp in picking up others' feelings and he didn't want to cause her any undue stress.

Benitsubasa gave him a quick smile before letting go of his hand and as he went up to the door she moved to stand behind him in a more protective position, ready to...well protect him. She had _dreamed_ of being his bodyguard so she didn't mind standing behind him. Beside, in front or behind mattered little to her as long as he was safe.

*knock* *knock*

"Who is it?" they heard a soft voice ask, muffled by the door. For Shinji it was a welcome sound, for too long he had heard that voice through speakers so he couldn't help but smile.

"Shinji Ikari," he replied and he waited and after a brief pause he received his answer.

"C-come in!"

Shinji slid the door open and saw her sitting up on a hospital bed.

Chiho Hidaka, cousin of Asuka Lanley Soryu from Kyoko's side and one of the nicest people Shinji had ever met in his entire life. She was a small girl for their age, even before his growth spirt. Back when he lived in Tokyo-3 Shinji had been taller than her and from what he could see that didn't change. She was a fair skinned girl with a kind looking face, light brown waist length hair and big hazelnut brown eyes. Not surprisingly she's wearing a hospital gown.

Shinji also saw that she had a visitor sitting at the foot of her bed. The girl looked a bit older than Shinji, a college student from her appearance. Shinji had to admit she was gorgeous, long dark brown hair tied into a ponytail, dark brown eyes and a very well developed figure that could give even Misato a run for her money. She wore a tight fitting pink top with a golden star and blue capri jeans.

Benitsubasa though recognized her and saw her sister tense for combat and held up her hand before motioning to the breasts of her uniforms and the missing Disciplinary Squad insignias and hoped it would stop a fight. She could feel her ashikabi's good mood and didn't want to ruin it. Besides as far as Benitsubasa was concerned the Sekirei Plan could go fuck itself now that she was with her Shinji-sama so as much as she _wanted_ to fight one of her sisters she wouldn't be the one to start anything. Bodyguards kept their charges _out_ of danger, not start something dangerous with them around.

The Third Child of NERV though was ignorant to that train of thought as he expanded a weak AT Field to block any microphones that may be hidden in the walls. Satisfied he smiled at the two, happy to see Chiho after such a long time and grateful to the other girl for visiting his friend. Chiho had always been sweet and kind and easy to get along with but none of that helped with her stuck in a hospital room.

"Hi Chiho-san, long time no see."

* * *

 **Just a Few Moments Prior…**

Uzume sat at the foot of Chiho's bed. She had taken to visiting the sick but kind girl on an almost daily basis. She liked Chiho, she wasn't not going to lie about that and she _is_ reacting to her but…she didn't know how long she'll live and since if an ashikabi dies the sekirei also suffers…yeah she didn't fancy the idea of dying young. Then there's the fact that she'll be leaving for better treatment in Europe, which country she can't remember, and Uzume would need a _damn_ good reason for MBI to let her out of Tokyo-4 during The Plan.

Still, she did love her though…argh! Damn, why can't her life be simple?

Chiho just sipped a glass of water, her throat parched from their conversation about said topics.

*knock* *knock*

That made the cute and kind girl blink, who could that be? Hospital staff? She looked at the clock and found that it was the wrong time for the staff to come bring her a meal and she had no procedure today. That was shy she was so happy this morning since it meant she could just discuss the future with Uzume. Could it be a visitor then? It had to be but…who would visit her?

At hearing someone knock on the door Uzume looked at her possible future ashikabi, who looked at her, and raised a brow in curiosity. As far as Uzume knew Chiho didn't have any family in Japan. Chiho had told her that all her remaining family are in Germany and in the month that she'd been visiting she hadn't seen any friends visit Chiho, something that made her fume inside.

"Who is it?" Chiho asked while still looking at Uzume and from the look on her face Uzume could tell that Chiho didn't really know who it may be either.

Uzume prepared to summon some of her veil just in case it's someone who may threaten her sick friend. Higa Izumi, the owner of the hospital, had been attempting to blackmail her by threatening to hold back on Chiho's treatment so she wouldn't put it past him to try something more direct.

"Shinji Ikari," came the response and from the voice she could tell the voice is male and young, probably around Chiho's age?

Chiho's eyes widened, wider than Uzume had ever seen them, in recognition and…were those tears?

Chiho felt a bit panicked, what was Shinji-kun doing here?! And she looked like a mess! She used her bed sheets to dry her tears and, as quickly as possible, tried to fix her bed hair and straighten her ruffled hospital gown.

Uzume blinked in surprise as the sick girl, in a frantic panic, tried to make herself as presentable as possible before she seemed to go over the room, making sure it was clean. She couldn't help but smile, it was adorable to see her so flustered.

"C-come in," Chiho said shakily but Uzume could easily hear the happiness in her voice, who is this mystery person?

' _Is he Chiho's boyfriend?'_ Uzume wondered. _'Is there a reason, and for his sake it better be a good reason, for him not to come visit until now? Why hadn't Chiho mentioned him before? And more importantly...is he fine sharing Chiho?'_ Chiho had already admitted to loving Uzume, something that still made her blush a bit. Personally Uzume wouldn't mind a three way relationship, guys or girls she didn't really mind. To her 'love knows no gender,' while most sekirei are heterosexual a large minority, including herself, are bisexual.

Love is love after all.

The door opened revealing…a cute guy carrying a bouquet of assorted roses.

' _Huh,'_ Uzume thought to herself, _'well that's a good start.'_

He, Shinji she mentally corrected herself, was a guy of average height for what she guessed his age is, the same as her Chiho, in his mid-teens. He had a _very_ light tan to him but what really caught her attention was the snow white hair, his deep dark blue eye and the eye patch covering his left eye. It gave him a mysterious vibe that she really liked.

While he seemed to be giving the room a once over Uzume saw there was another person following closely behind. A girl in a black top, black short shorts and pink hair…in a side pony tail…

Uzume's eyes widened in shock at seeing _her_. While she didn't know every one of her sisters and brothers Uzume did know about _her_. What sekirei didn't know about her? Sekirei Number 105 Benitsubasa, the 'Red Sekirei' and member of the Disciplinary Squad.

You didn't get elected for that for being nice.

Uzume tensed herself for combat but blinked in surprise when Benitsubasa lifted her hand and gave a 'stop' motion before gesturing to her top which…didn't have the Disciplinary Squad emblem on them anymore.

Uzume calmed down, if she didn't want a fight then Uzume sure as hell wouldn't give her a reason to start one. Besides her ashikabi seemed like a real nice guy, assuming Shinji was her ashikabi, the smile on Chiho's face spoke volumes. Seeing that it was easy for her to decide she wouldn't antagonize him and by extension his sekirei if they didn't want to start anything.

Benitsubasa just mentally sighed in relief, the _last_ thing she wants is to start a fight with her ashikabi's friend, a sick friend with a story so tragic that even she felt pity for Chiho, in the room. She may be itching to hit something but that doesn't mean she wants to risk her ashikabi's ire, especially with their relationship being so young.

Uzume turned her attention back to the boy and saw him smile at Chiho and herself.

*bump* *bump*

She felt her heart skip a bit and her face redden as her breathing started to quicken.

' _No,'_ she thought to herself as her eyes widened in surprise. _'No. No. No. No. I'm reacting to Chiho already aren't I?! I heard of some ashikabis having a harem of sekirei but sekirei aren't supposed to have a harem of ashikabis…right?'_ She glanced at the boy walking towards Chiho and couldn't help but think it wouldn't be so bad…if she wasn't so damn confused! _'I'm deffinetly going to see Miya tonight,'_ she decided. She'd know something right?

Shinji stopped in front of Chiho with a smile. "Hi Chiho-san, long time no see."

"Y-you came..." Chiho said with disbelief.

"Of course, didn't Asuka tell you I'm coming back from Germany yesterday?"

Well at least Uzume now knows where he's been and why he couldn't visit until now.

"No she didn't…y-you're actually here." Shinji just frowned and sighed. It seemed Asuka wanted to surprise Chiho.

"Well here I am," Shinji gestured to himself with a small smile, not really knowing what to do, it looked like she was about to cry and he didn't know what he did for her to do that.

"S-Shinji-kun, I can't believe you're actually here. You're okay…" Chiho said with wide eyes and unshed tears of joy and suddenly, and surprising both sekirei and Shinji who let out a soft gasp, she hugged him tightly by the waist, burying her face into his abdomen as she quietly sobbed. "Thank God you're okay. You're okay. You're okay…" she repeated that over and over and over again.

She still remembered the last time she saw him, it was after another Angel attack. Chiho remembered being wheeled into his hospital room by Asuka, she wanted to congratulate him on another victory but instead she saw him unconscious with half a dozen machines attached to him. She remembered how his arms were covered in blood soaked bandages, how it sounded like it hurt when he breathed as he slept-she hugged him tighter.

"Shhh I'm okay," Shinji gently cooed as he gently adjusted himself and Chiho so he could sit on her bed. Chiho took advantage and shifted, crying onto his shoulder as Shinji embraced her back, "I'm okay Chiho. I'm okay, see?"

Uzume couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable and Benitsubasa felt the same as her. With Chiho clinging onto Shinji as if she was afraid he'd disappear if she let go, her small hands gripping onto the back of his shirt, it made for a very personal scene. Shinji then started stroking her hair in an effort to comfort her while handing the bouquet to his sekirei who then quietly put it in an empty vase.

Both sekirei felt like they didn't belong in the room as the two friends shared a _very_ intimate moment.

It didn't help Uzume that she didn't know who Shinji was and why Chiho was getting all emotional.

"Chiho-san?" Shinji asked after a while, after Chiho's crying started to wind down.

After another moment Chiho let go and Shinji took out a handkerchief which Chiho accepted with a blush and used it to wipe away the left over wetness that didn't get absorbed by his shirt. Seemingly realizing what she'd done Chiho let out a small embarrassed gasp before pulling up her blanket up to cover half her face.

"S-sorry about your shirt Shinji-kun."

"It's fine Chiho-san," he waved it off. He had come to give her her homework covered in bandages more than once during the Angel War and so he had been used to comforting her as she cried.

"I'm happy to see you're okay. When I left Tokyo-3 you were…so…so hurt," Chiho said as she griped her sheets so tight that her knuckles started to turn white. "How are your arms?"

Shinji blinked in surprise before gesturing his arms forward, "perfectly fine, see? No scars or anything."

"That doesn't make me feel better Shinji-kun," Chiho sighed before her eyes shot up to his eyepatch, seemingly not noticing it until now. She glared at Shinji but due to her cute appearance it just came off to Uzume as an adorable pout. " _What_ happened to your eye, Shinji-kun?"

"I…well…*sigh* when the JSSDF attacked Tokyo-3…" Shinji said feeling distinctly uncomfortable. "I kind of…got hurt," he explained before frantically waving his hands in front of himself, "Asuka's fine though!"

Chiho pursed her lips, while she disagreed with Asuka's pet name for her crush, and as much as Asuka denied it was a pet name Chiho new better, she could kind of see where it came from sometimes, "…it's permanent isn't it?"

"Not exactly but its….going to be a while before I can be without this," he tapped his eyepatch before giving a small wry smile, "I think it looks good though?"

Chiho just glared at her friend for a second, not wanting to concede that it did gave him a more edgy look before giving off a frustrated sigh. She looked at Shinji with such a bitter smile that it surprised Uzume. In all her time knowing Chiho the young human had always soldiered on, even with her disease, with a happy smile on her face.

"You didn't leave Germany just because you wanted to come back home did you?"

Shinji turned away, "…no."

"Oh Shinji-kun," she said with a tear before her smile turned genuine, "I won't insult you by asking you to stop. I know you see it as your duty but be careful... _please_? For Asuka-chan, for Misato-san, for Edith-chan…for me."

"Of course," Shinji said with a blush.

"Hm?" Chiho said as she tilted her head to look behind Shinji, "oh my! It seems I've ignored your friend. I'm sorry if you felt left out."

"N-no, I didn't want to interrupt," the room's other sekirei responded.

"I'm Chiho Hidaka, cousin of Shinji-kun's best friend and a friend of Shinji-kun's since our last year of middle school together at Tokyo-3," Chicho introduced herself with a smile.

' _She always did love meeting people,'_ Uzume thought to herself with a smile.

Chiho then gestured at Uzume, "and this is Uzume-chan. She's a close friend of mine and has been visiting me almost every day."

"Ah," Benitsubasa muttered, a little flustered, she usually preferred punching people over talking to them. "I'm Benitsubasa, I'm Shinji-sama's….uh…friend and...bodyguard."

Uzume raised a brow at that while Chiho seemed happy to hear that Shinji had a bodyguard for some reason. Did he need protecting? Is he some kind of VIP?...And why did she feel a spike of protectiveness for him?

"Ah! I see, that's good. Please protect him for me Benitsubasa-san," she gave a small bow at the end.

"O-of course! I'll beat the crap out of anyone who wants to hurt my Shinji-sama!"

' _More like turn them into paste,'_ Uzume thought wryly, she had heard of Number 105's reputation and had heard that she had been training even harder over the past two years. Combine that with the girl's sheer physical strength and…well she can do much more than just beat someone unconscious.

"I'm counting on you then," Chiho said with as she shook the sekirei's hand, "so Benitsubasa-san how did you two meet?"

"W-what? W-well…"

Uzume smiled as Chiho happily grilled the pink haired sekirei about how she met her male friend. It made Uzume happy to see the sick girl have someone to talk to. The poor girl really did need more people visiting her.

"Hello," Uzume looked up to see Shinji looking down at her with a smile, his hand stuck out at her for a handshake, one she happily gave. "I'm Shinji Ikari, a friend of Chiho-san and her cousin's best friend."

*bump* *bump*

She beat down the blush that threatened to creep up on her face as her heart raced and her body warmed from his touch. _'Damn his eye is a nice shade of blue.'_

"H-hi..." she stuttered lamely before shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "I'm Uzume, nice to meet you bro."

"Nice to meet you too Uzume-san," he said and he meant it. While Asuka sent messages to her as often as she could, and of course Shinji would contribute to those when he could but it wasn't the same as having someone come to visit her in person.

Shinji grabbed the worryingly thick clipboard full at the foot of the bed as his friend grilled his flustered sekirei. Honestly it kind of amused Shinji to see a new side to Benitsubasa. As far as he'd known her she'd been supportive and affectionate and occasionally protective (especially during the Battle of Tokyo-3) but never had he seen her so openly flustered as she was now, sputtering and blushing up a storm.

It was cute.

Shinji though was reading Chiho's medical charts and he didn't find them cute at all. At times like these he wished he shared Asuka's tendency to snap at the smallest thing, healthier than just being silently frustrated.

"You some genius bro?" Uzume asked as she watched him read.

"What?" Shinji lamely asked as he blinked in surprise.

"Well I can't make heads or tails of that," she said as she pointed at the clipboard.

"Oh. I'm no genius," he said sheepishly, "I just asked a doctor I know to teach me how to read these so I can keep up to date on things whenever people I know end up in a hospital."

"Did Chiho end up in the hospital a lot back then too?" Uzume asked him and Shinji noted how familiar she sounded when referring to his friend. First name basis _and_ no honourifics. Good, so Chiho did have friends or at least a friend in this new city. A spike of guilt hit him as he realized he'd be breaking them apart, something that he knew could be hard.

Not a moment went by since he had touched down the other day that, at least in the deepest part of him, he missed Asuka already. _Really_ missed her, life just wasn't the same without his favourite German girl.

' _I'll call her as soon as I can,'_ he decided before turning his attention back to the clipboard.

He had to suppress a sigh as he eyed it with a disguised hatred. Not only did he have to break up what he assumed are two close friends, and one of Chiho's few friends at that but he had to do it so soon. He knew Asuka had already told Chiho about her being moved to Germany but he doubted the kind girl thought she would be moved so quickly.

Oh he knew with modern technology the world is much 'smaller' than before but he knew it wasn't the same as a face to face connection.

But he really should move her. Looking through her records Shinji could see his friend slowly regressing to how bad she was when she was forced to leave Tokyo-3. It was slow but even someone with no medical training above first aid could see where it was going. What's to stop her health from dropping sharply?

No, he had to move her ASAP while she was still stable enough to move.

Plus there's something about the records that made him suspicious, they felt…off. He didn't have any proof of course but the instinct that he trusted in combat told him there was something he wasn't seeing. Why did her condition start to deteriorate? While slow she _was_ making progress before, what happened?

He was probably being paranoid but…well conspiracies did happen. Hell he was at the centre of _two_ MASSIVE ones: NERV's war with SEELE and the existence of sekirei, real aliens.

He turned to Uzume, it had probably seemed like he had ignored her.

"Sorry, got a little lost in my own head. She was stuck in the hospital back then too and I got sent to the hospital a lot back then."

The girl blinked a few times in response, probably surprised. He would probably be too in her position; he looked healthy enough after all sans the eyepatch.

Shinji put the clipboard back in place, and turned to Chiho.

"Chiho do you feel good enough to go outside? I think you'd like to have some fresh air once in a while."

"Oh that sounds wonderful," she replied with a smile.

Shinji nodded and went over to the wheelchair in the corner of the room and wheeled it over. Once he got it to the side of her bed he turned to his friend. "Ready?"

She gave a shy nod of the head with a light blush. Shinji thought that was strange, she tended to do that when he did this. Was it so embarrassing for her? He had been helping her like this ever since they became friends since her illness had her confined to a bed and wheelchair for as long as he's known her. Even when he was a normal human she was light enough to carry. Well that's just one more good reason to get her to Germany, the sooner she's there the sooner she can get better and can walk around freely again.

She gingerly lifted the blankets off of her and held her arms out in front of her. Shinji leaned down so she could wrap her arms around his neck as he carefully picked her up, noting she's as light as ever, and helped her onto her wheelchair.

As he started to wheel her out of the room he noticed Benitsubasa walking over to Uzume and was originally a little worried she'd start a fight so he slowed down but when he notice Benitsubasa start to introduce herself he shrugged it off. Who would introduce themselves before a fight? You'd lose all notion of surprise.

Satisfied he tuned his sekirei out as she followed him a few paces behind with Chiho's friend, he wanted to give her some privacy, it would be rude to just eavesdrop on her girl talk.

Plus, even after living with Misato and Asuka he never really got girl talk so he instead made some small talk with Chicho, asking her about what her life had been like since the last time he had seen her while she asked him about Germany.

They had a lot of catching up to do.

After making the short journey down to the first floor and out to the small park behind the hospital he looked down at Chiho with a bit of a frown as he wheeled her under the shade of a tree, he never liked being the bearer of bad news.

"Chiho-san."

"Hm?" she hummed as she looked up at him with her big beautiful brown eyes, "yes Shinji-kun?"

"About your transfer to Germany…"

* * *

Uzume followed the pink haired sekirei to a tree near the one where Shinji had wheeled Chiho under for some shade. The two were chatting about…something. Uzume couldn't really hear them because of the distance, oh they were close enough that she could hear them if she concentrated but she didn't want to eavesdrop. The two of them looked so…relaxed under the shade. Shinji sitting on the grass, leaning on the tree trunk and Chiho on her wheelchair right beside him with smiles on both their faces.

Uzume smiled sensing a perfect moment. She took out her cellphone and took a quick picture. While still unsure of what to do about her reacting to them both she did know that she already thought of them as important people to her, even if she just met Shinji. As a sekirei she cared about both of her possible ashikabis and Shinji was a good kid, that much she could tell. Her younger sister was looking at her ashikabi, and she was certain he was her ashikabi, with a…complicated expression. Happiness and envy on her face in equal proportion.

"So," she said getting the pink haired sekirei's attention, "what did you want to talk to me about Miss Washboard?"

An angry tic appeared on the smaller sekirei's head as she growled, " _what_ was that Thunder Tits? You want me to-" The girl then took a few deep calming breaths before glaring at Uzume but speaking in a calmer tone. "You're lucky Shinji-sama seems to like you." When she heard that Uzume could feel her heart skip a beat, "look Number 10 are you or are you not reacting to Shinji-sama? Because if you're not then I'm done wasting my breath trying to be nice to you."

Uzume put on a teasing smirk, "and if I am? Afraid I'll steal him away from you?"

"No, I trust Shinji-sama." She responded with so much surety that Uzume was sure it wasn't just a sekirei's normal love for their ashikabi but something more. "So answer the question Number 10."

"I have a name you know."

"I know, I heard you but right now you're just a possible enemy."

Uzume nodded to that. If she had been winged by Chiho by now then she'd be the same way, she'd do anything no matter how underhanded to keep her ashikabi safe.

Uzume sighed, "yeah I am."

"Figures," Benitsubasa grumbled.

"Want to keep your man _all_ to yourself?" she said teasingly.

The pinkette blushed a bit at that.

"I'm not his first sekirei, I'm his second. B-besides I've already come to terms with the fact that someone as awesome as Shinji-sama is bound to attract other sekirei." In her mind she had placed Shinji on a pedestal a kilometre high, he was a _real_ hero to her. She had always dreamed of being swept off her feet by a dashing knight, she had never guessed real life would be so close to her dreams. Just replace the horse with a badass robot and the suit of armor with a skin tight bodysuit that she had spent many a nights fantasizing over and it was the same thing really.

"Oh?" Uzume tilted, "who's the first?"

"Doesn't matter," Benitsubasa waved her off, "look if you want to be winged by Shinji-sama I have to warn you about some…stuff."

"Trying to scare me off washboard? I thought you were ok with it already."

"I TOLD YOU TO STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Benitsubasa snapped and Uzume had to stifle a laugh as the girl embarrassed at her outburst sputtered an apology to her ashikabi who gave her a curious look from where he sat. Benitsubasa turned to Uzume with a glare and whispered, " _very_ funny. *sigh* _Anyway_ if you want to be winged by Shinji-sama, fine. Just know that Shinji-sama is involved in…a…dangerous life. People, _humans_ will try to kill him and you _will_ have to kill humans to keep him safe, I already have. Being with Shinji-sama will be dangerous. I'm just telling you now because Shinij-sama will say more or less the same thing."

"And how would you know what the little bro would do?"

"Because he gave me a similar speech except he tried to tell me off getting winged by him. He doesn't understand how sekirei think, I do. I know we'll follow our ashikabi through hell, how we l-love them in a way that's hard to understand for humans so I'm just warning you what you'll be in for. Being with Shinji-sama won't always be easy. And I'm warning you so he'll have less to stress over."

Uzume nodded at that. In all honesty though she was already willing to shed blood for her loved ones, if Higa even tried to touch a _hair_ on Chiho's head then she'd gut him before any of his sekirei could stop her. If anything it meant she could do _something_ for Shinji unlike with Chiho where her fighting abilities meant nothing against her illness.

"Hand me your phone," Benitsubasa said as she fished out a cellphone. Uzume took out her own and handed it to her. The pinkette tapped on the touchscreen for a few moments before handing it back to her. "Here. Shinji-sama and I will be leaving for his workplace tomorrow afternoon. I don't know how long we'll be gone but it may be a few days. I suggest you make a decision before then but just in case I put in my number." She quickly tapped something on her phone, "there I texted you the address of the hotel we're staying at. Ask for Shinji Ikari."

Uzume nodded as she looked at her phone.

' _The Continental huh? I guess I'll talk to Chiho and Miya tonight,'_ she thought with a mental sigh.

Why can't her life ever be simple?

* * *

 **The Maple**

' _At least I'm not underdressed,'_ Benitsubasa thought happily as she walked into the The Maple. She was afraid her casual dress, and the only real clothes she owned, weren't going to be enough but with how Shinji hadn't changed and how everyone was dressed she could tell she worried over nothing.

"Hello Takami-san," Shinji greeted when he spotted his mother figure dressed in a simple grey turtle neck sweater and black skirt. "I hope you didn't wait here long."

"You worry too much," she waved him off with a small smile, "somethings never change huh kido?"

"I think it's a good trait," Shinji grumbled before walking up to the hostess, "I had made a reservation this morning. A private booth for Ikari?"

Recognition flashed in the woman's eyes before gathering some menus in her arms and nodding sharply, "of course sir, please follow me."

* * *

Takami and Benitsubasa raised a curious brow as they noticed how far back they were being lead and now they were in what seemed to be an area with multiple private booths, or more like rooms from the looks of it. Eventually they reached a door near the end of the hallway where the hostess opened a door and motioned to show them in.

"Your booth sir," she then handed Shinji a small remote, "a waitress has been assigned to your booth exclusively, press the button and she will be with you quickly."

"And the things I asked to be prepared?"

"Your waitress will deliver them when you call her sir."

"Thank you," Shinji nodded and then the hostess did something that surprised Takami and drove the truth of her new life into Benitsubasa, she stood straight and gave Shinji a crisp and respectful salute.

"Enjoy your stay and, if I do say so myself, it's been an honour to serve you Captain."

Shinji blinked in surprise before returning the gesture, "thank you Captain, at ease."

The woman smiled as she relaxed, "you don't remember me do you?"

"...sorry, no."

"I worked in your detail for the first few months of your stay at Tokyo-3."

Shinji gasped, "Honda-san?!"

"The one and only, anyway I'll leave you to your lunch," she made a more relaxed solute, nodded at Takami and Benitsubasa and went on her way.

Shinji waved bye, still surprised at seeing such a familiar face, before entering with Takami following behind and Benitsubasa coming in last, closing the door behind them.

"What was that about?" Takami asked as they all sat down and opened their menus

Shinji cringed a bit at that, he wanted to tell Takami the truth about what his life had been like since he left the loving warmth of the Takami household…or at least most of it, the parts he was comfortable discussing. He wanted to tell her about how he fought in the Angel War and his current duties at NERV. He wanted to ask her to adopt him, he wanted a family of his own after seeing Asuka reconnect with hers and he planned to start that with telling her the truth.

' _I'm not Gendo, I'm not going to lie to my family,'_ he opened the menu and eyed the wine.

Well if he was going to talk about the Angels and NERV he might as well have something to make talking easier right?

 **NEXT ON AN ANGEL AND HIS WAGTAILS - CHAPTER 4: Welcome to NERV**

 **AN**

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Late I know but with this being the only story with a Chirstmas chapter, sorry 'Toy Soldier' fans that was slated to have one too but I ran out of time, I thought it appropriate to say it anyway.

So not a lot to talk about this chapter on my end except that it's a lot of setup but I think enough happened. We got some Benitsubasa/Shinji time and the introduction of Chiho and poor confused Uzume.

Writing this I reworked the dialogue involving the NERV Japan agents. First they would be fearful to reflect the information given about the kids' treatment at NERV Hamburg but I changed it after some thought. While Shinji fought for the world if you were far away from Tokyo-3 it could still have felt a world away to you. People in Japan though? Especially NERV? Shinji was fighting for _them,_ for their homes and families and maybe they even saw Shinji fighting or hurt so he's much more respected here than in Germany.

I also reworked a lot of the beginning part in the hotel, it was too...romantic at first, it moved too fast and didn't feel right. And while Benitsubasa may be happy with that it seemed very OOC for the backstory I've given Shinji in this fic.

It was also a lot longer, I gave the pistol a whole paragraph. As one of my readers pointed out I kinda have a thing for stuff that goes 'bang' but since Shinji didn't use it here I decided to skimp on the details for now. If anyone is wondering though Shinji's carry is a HK45CN, a custom HK45C chambered for the fictional .45 NERV round, with a stainless slide, grey polymer frame and fiber optic sights. I was originally going to have him carry the compact version of the gun Misato carries in canon, the USP45, but I decided against it. The beloved USP45 will still appear in the hands of others so fear not.

And next chapter should be quite busy as we get re-introduced to the NERV Japan cast including Misato and Shinji's feared mount, the fearsome Unit-01.

 **ALSO** please make an account or log in when reviewing if you want a reply. I reply directly so, nothing against (guests), if I have no reply link I can't get back to you. Besides I don't update frequent enough, guilty, to answer in an AN within a reasonable amount of time.

Thanks to **WriterGirl** for betaing for me even with her hectic schedule. Expect a DxD x Eva story soon, I've wanted to do one as long as I've been on this site and I'm half way done my first chapter so look forward to that. The story's concept has gone through 3 complete redoes and this chapter is the 4th iteration and its almost done!

Well with that said, see you all in the next chapter!


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